Court Blocks CDA

[Lauren Amy Gelman]

>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 at 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
> 



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Lauren Amy Gelman				gelmanl at gwis2.circ.gwu.edu
George Washington University			gelman at epic.org
Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program	gelman at acm.org