From CNN web site:
U.S. court blocks Internet indecency law June 12, 1996 Web posted at: 8:56 a.m. EDT PHILADELPHIA (Reuter) - A special U.S. court panel on Wednesday issued a preliminary injuction blocking as unconstitutional a new law prohibiting the distribution of indecent material that would be accessible to children over the Internet and other computer networks. "As the most participatory form of mass speech yet developed, the Internet deserves the highest protection from government intrusion," the three-judge panel said in its decision released Wednesday. The case involves the Communications Decency Act signed into law by President Clinton on Feb. 8. The law punishes the distribution to minors of obscene or indecent material over the Internet or commerical online services with fines and up to two years in prison. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit against the Justice Department the same day the measure became law. The suit was combined with a separate action undertaken by major online services and software giant Microsoft Corp. Opponents say the bill is unconstitutional, unenforceable and would drastically curtail what they said is the highly democratic nature of speech in "cyberspace." But the U.S. government said the law was essential to shield children who have easy access to a growing amount of pornography online. On Wed, 12 Jun 1996, Harry S. Hawk wrote:
CNN reports court blocks CDA
-- Harry Hawk, Manager of Interactive Communications Warwick Baker & Fiore, 212 941 4438, habs@warwick.com
The Internet has the potential to set us free -- to learn anything and do anything, whenever we want. No wonder politicians want to regulate it -- The Washington Post, November 7, 1995, p. A13., Cyber Liberation [Column], James K. Glassman
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lauren Amy Gelman gelmanl@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu George Washington University gelman@epic.org Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program gelman@acm.org