One of the main arguments about technology for the good guys is that the CDA's infringements on free speech are not the least restrictive means for accomplishing their (claimed) objective - technology gives us some options today (like censor-filters) - and advances in technology _strengthen_ the pro-free-speech case, because they provide more alternatives that are less restrictive than the censorship approach. At 06:45 PM 3/19/97 -0500, Declan wrote:
http://cgi.pathfinder.com/netly/editorial/0,1012,744,00.html Justice Scalia, who noted that he uses a computer, pointed out that technology is rapidly changing. "So much of your argument is based on what's currently available," he said to Ennis. "This technology is changing so quickly. Is it possible that this statute is unconstitutional now but could be [constitutional] in four or five years?" Ennis replied: "Not as it's written."
During a subsequent press conference, Ennis added that indeed, the technology is changing, and is giving parents more control over what their children do and see online. "Precisely because the technology is changing, the government should not be trying to enforce this law," he said. The ACLU attorneys who joined Ennis were grinning: the justices appeared to understand the nature of communications online, noted that teens have rights, and focused on free speech, not porn.
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