THE INVISIBLE BARBECUE

Past legislation subsidizing the development of infrastructural techno logy has borne the mark of political corruption. The subject matter of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 falls within the same category of legislation that has fallen prey to this process in the past. In an ef fort to discern whether such forces are at work today, Professor Mogle n undertakes a critical examination of the metaphors that pervade the current scholarly discourse on the subject of telecommunications law. Terms such as ''Superhighway,'' ''Broadcasting, '' and ''Market for Ey eballs'' reveal a great deal about the implicit assumptions at work be hind the current scholarship and legislation, and serve to confine the debate in such a way that the full impact of the new lao remains hidd en. Professor Moglen concludes that the broader implications of the Te lecommunications Act of 1996 need to be addressed, or the law will hav e a detrimental impact on our society and culture for decades to come.