Internet Safety, Help and Education : Law, Free Speech

This is really boring stuff (...but since you asked, your wish is my command.) In February, 1996, as part of a larger bill deregulating the telecommunications industry, Congress enacted the controversial Communications Decency Act of 1996 (usually referred to as the "CDA").

The CDA was an attempt to regulate what was being transmitted over the Internet. In June 1997, the United States Supreme Court ruled that most of the CDA was unconstitutional.

First, a little legal background about free speech in the United States. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives everyone in this country the right to free speech, unrestricted by government interference.

Now, this doesn't mean that government is powerless to act when speech is concerned. For example, governments can set rules about when, where, and how a group can stage a protest march -- and forbid marches to take place at, say, three in the morning with noise levels loud enough to puncture eardrums. These "time, place, and manner" restrictions are fine, as long as they apply to everyone and are reasonable.

But, generally, the government can't set rules about the content of communications --what is being said. Certain exceptions to that rules exist, including one for obscenity. This is called "unprotected speech." If something is obscene, the government can regulate it, and criminalize its use.

The CDA tried to regulate "indecent" material (not "obscene speech"). There's a big difference between "obscenity" and "indecency" legally, although to many of you they may seem the same. (Lawyers never speak the same language as normal people...you should know that by now. If we did, you wouldn't need us, and we'd all have to write books to make a living...) Unfortunately, Congress confused them as well. (Most of them are also lawyers, so what would you expect?) Indecency is protected by the First Amendment, and is most easily described as what makes a movie " PG" rated rather than "G" rated. The CDA, if enforced, could have sent parents to jail just for sending an e-mail to their teenager about responsible birth control.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that speech in cyberspace is entitled to the same protection as the press and books. Basically, if you could write and publish a book or pamphlet on a subject, you can publish it on the Internet. (Note that other countries' laws may conflict with ours, and what may be legal, such as discussions of nazism, in the United States may be illegal elsewhere.)

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CDA, Communications Decency Act