MARGARET WARNER: It was quite a scene today in the Library of Congress main reading room when comedian Lily Tomlin made an appearance via the Internet.

LILY TOMLIN: Yoohoo, Mr. President. Mr. President, yoohoo. I can just see the headlines, "Bill Signs Bill."

MARGARET WARNER: After the humor and high-tech fanfare, President Clinton signed into law a mammoth bill that will restructure the entire telecommunications industry. Congress has been trying to pass such legislation for almost a decade. The new law transforms the legal framework that regulates the telephone, broadcast, and cable TV industries, breaking down barriers erected by communications law adopted more than 60 years ago.

PRESIDENT CLINTON: Today, our world is being re-made yet again by an information revolution, changing the way we work, the way we live, the way we relate to each other. But this revolution has been held back by outdated laws, designed for a time when there was one phone company, three TV networks, no such thing as a personal computer. Today with the stroke of a pen our laws will catch up with our future. We will help to create an open marketplace where competition and innovation can move as quick as light.

MARGARET WARNER: More specifically, the new law will allow long distance and local phone companies to compete in each other's markets. These companies also can begin to offer video services over their phone lines, competing directly with cable providers. For their part, cable operators may now jump into the phone market and federal controls on cable TV rates will be lifted immediately, or within three years, depending on the size of the market. The bill's reach extends further. For broadcasters, it relaxes the limits on the number of TV and radio stations a single company can own. At the same time, it requires TV sets to be equipped with a device known as the V-chip to give set owners the option of automatically blocking violent programs. Finally, for online computer companies and users, the bill imposes criminal penalties for knowingly transmitting "indecent" material to minors. In a clear signal of what's to come, President Clinton signed the legislation a second time with an electronic pen on a computer screen which instantly posted the new law on the Internet.

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