Cyberlaw Topics: Obscenity
This site contains an overview of obscenity issues related to the use of the Internet, including:
Obscenity Legislation
Obscenity Topics
Selected Cases
Selected Articles and Reports
Other Useful Links
Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996 - An Overview
Overview by the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) on the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996.
Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996 - Struck Down by Supreme Court
In June 1997, U.S. Supreme Court rules that the CDA is unconstitutional and violates the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech.
Child Online Protection Act (COPA) of 1998
The Act prohibits online sites from knowingly making available to minors material that is "harmful to minors" (sexually explicit material meeting definitions set forth in the Act). Commercial providers of "harmful to minors" material may defend themselves against prosecution by restricting the access of minors to such material. This site contains the original statute as well as court documents of the legal challenge and restraining orders.
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998
Not to be confused with COPA, the main goal of COPPA is to protect the privacy of children using the Internet. This Act applies to the online collection of personal information from children under 13. The new rules spell out what a Web site operator must include in a privacy policy, when and how to seek verifiable consent from a parent and what responsibilities an operator has to protect children's privacy and safety online.
Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002
A .pdf file of the first discussion draft of the content guidelines and requirements of Kids.US, a second-level domain for children. This document requires that the second-level domain Kids.US be reserved for appropriate content for children 12 and under.
top of page
Obscenity Topics
Internet Censorship FAQ
The Internet Censorship FAQ was created by Jonathan Wallace and Mark Mangan, co-authors of Sex, Laws and Cyberspace, a new book on Internet censorship from Henry Holt. Some of the material in the following is taken from the book.
Internet Censorship by EPIC
Contains information about current internet censorship efforts at the Federal, State, and International levels.
top of page
Selected CasesAshcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, No. 00795, April 16, 2002
U.S. Supreme Court had to decide if depicting virtual (as opposed to actual) children engaged in sexually explicit conduct was prohibited by the Children's' Pornography Prevention Act of 1998 or was protected free speech under the First Amendment.
Ashcroft v. ACLU, No. 001293, May 12, 2002
U.S. Supreme Court had to decide whether the use of the contemporary community standards test for obscenity (Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15) as required by the Childrens' Online Protection Act in order to identify material deemed harmful to minors was overbroad and therefore violative of the First Amendment.
FindLaw: List of Cases
Contains a comprehensive list of cases pertaining to Cyberspace and Freedom of Expression.
Child Online Protection Act may violate the First Amendment, referred to Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union case.
top of page
Selected Articles and ReportsBook Summary: Sex, Laws, and Cyberspace
This link contains table of contents, brief summaries, and reviews of the book Sex, Laws, and Cyberspace. The summary mentions the genesis of the Communications Decency Act and the cases, such as Amateur Action and Jake Baker that fueled the giddy call for online censorship. Also mentioned are the chapters on Phil Zimmerman, Prodigy, and the Scientology lawsuits, which highlights the confused struggle of the courts to define legal standards for cyberspace.
top of page
Other Useful LinksAmerican Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): CyberLiberties site
"Cyberspace must be free!" Read about the ACLU's views regarding censorship and privacy.
Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT)
The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) works to promote democratic values and constitutional liberties in the digital age. With expertise in law, technology, and policy, CDT seeks practical solutions to enhance free expression and privacy in global communications technologies. CDT is dedicated to building consensus among all parties interested in the future of the Internet and other new communications media.
COPA Commission
The COPA Commission, a congressionally appointed panel, was mandated by the Child Online Protection Act, which was approved by Congress in October 1998. The primary purpose of the Commission is to "identify technological or other methods that will help reduce access by minors to material that is harmful to minors on the Internet."
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
EPIC is a public interest research center in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1994 to focus public attention on emerging civil liberties issues and to protect privacy, the First Amendment, and constitutional values.
FindLaw: Cyberspace Law: Freedom of Expression
Contains links to various articles, reports, legislation, and cases concerning Cyberspace Law and Freedom of Expression.
top of page
