Freedom of Speech

Filtering Our Right of Free Speech on the Internet

Section 502 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, commonly known as the Communications Decency Act, detailed what could not be transmitted via the WWW to minors under the age of 18. The Communications Decency Act made it illegal to transmit or display "obscene, lewd, and indecent" materials to minors. However, the language in the act was so vague that many believed that the act would impact what adults could have access to on the Web. Many viewed the act as blatant censorship and therefore unconstitutional . Several Internet groups and businesses petitioned the courts to strike down the act as unconstitutional. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenged the act all the way to the Supreme Court. In June 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that the act restricted adults access to information on the Web, which in turn amounted to censorship, and was therefore unconstitutional. The government, however, plans to re-draft legislatio...