Muted voices in the legislative process: the role of scholarship in US Congressional efforts to protect children from internet pornography

Abstract

This analysis brings a range of theoretical perspectives on the politics of the communications policy-making process to bear on US Congressional efforts to protect children from internet pornography. The examination of the Congressional information gathering hearings during the formulation of the Communications Decency Act, Child Online Protection Act and Children's internet Protection Act shows an excess reliance on anecdotal evidence and a lack of social scientific research in informing Congressional inquiries. The authors here argue that such incidental involvement of academic scholarship could be explained through the lenses of `symbolic politics' and `class power', which have important implications for communication scholars who wish to be more closely involved in the communication policy-making process during future debates.