The First Amendment and the Web: The Internet Porn Panic and Restricting Indecency in Cyberspace

Mullin, Dorothy Imrich

Untangling the Web / .
(ReLIS:jul:juljbi:14972)

Abstract:

Citing government interests in making 'the new Internet and information superhighway as safe as possible for kids to travel' and in keeping computer networks from turning into a 'red light district' (comments made by Senator Jim Exon, D-NE, 1995), Congress recently passed the sweeping Communications Decency Act of 1996 that (among other things) makes it a crime to knowingly 'by means of a telecommunications device [make available] any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication which is obscene or indecent...[to any person] under 18 years of age' (47 U.S.C. Section 223(a)). This bill, now signed into law, extends already existing prohibitions on legally 'obscene' materials and child pornography to include a ban on 'indecent' content as well. In the wake of this broad ban, discussions have raged both online and in the press about free speech, online pornography, and the protection of children.

Creation: 1996
Keywords: Pornografía ; Censura ; Internet

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