Justices weigh decency rules for the Internet

Article Abstract:

The Supreme Court is attempting to decide if the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which makes displaying indecent material on the Internet a crime, is a violation of First Amendment rights. The portion of the law that deals with obscenity is unchallenged, however the sexually explicit communications and material that the law describes as indecent speech is being challenged. Lawyers for computer industry and civil liberties groups successfully challenged the new law in two lower Federal courts in the summer of 1996. The courts found the Communications Decency Act to be a violation of the First Amendment and injunctions prohibiting the law's enforcement were issued. These groups claim the law is ineffective and clumsy in its efforts to shield children, and would obstruct constitutionally protected speech among millions of adults.

Telecommunications industry, Communications industry, Social issue, Social conditions

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What level of protection for Internet speech? High Court weighs Decency-Act case

Article Abstract:

The Supreme Court's decision to support or reject the Communications Decency Act, which makes displaying sexually explicit material on the Internet a federal crime, will be largely influenced by which analogy the Justices view as the closest to the Internet. The most obvious analogy is the television, which physically resembles a computer monitor. However, the television is a one-way medium while the Internet provides for simultaneous communication between numerous people. For the Communications Decency Act to be successfully overturned, it is necessary for the Court to see past the physical analogy. The Justices did seem far more interested in the telephone analogy than the television, a coup for those challenging the Decency Act.

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Court, 9-0, upholds state laws prohibiting assisted suicide; protects speech on Internet; Decency Act Fails; effort to shield minors is said to infringe the First Amendment

Article Abstract:

The US Supreme Court has ruled that the Communication Decency Act is unconstitutional. The Federal law made it illegal to place indecent material on line that children could access. The Courts finding ensures that the Internet will have the same free speech rights as newspapers and books do, rather than the limited rights afforded to cable television and broadcasters. Two main coalitions of plaintiffs challenged the law. The groups represented the diverse spectrum of the people on the Internet. The US Chamber of Commerce influenced the Court by pointing out that the Communications Decency Act would limit the country's ability to compete successfully in the new global communications medium.

Censorship, Censorship issue

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