FREE SPEECH

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

--- Amendment I, The US Constitution

Hot Topics

• Censorware -- Post-CDA proposals for Internet "filtering" and rating.

• The Communications Decency Act.

  "As the most participatory form of mass speech yet developed, the Internet deserves the highest protection from government intrusion."

  -- ACLU v. Reno, No. 96-963 (E.D. Pa.)

• Other US efforts to censor online speech.

• International efforts to censor online speech.

Free Speech, the Internet, and the Law

• U.S. Supreme Court decision in FCC v. Pacifica Foundation (the "seven dirty words" case). Real Audio recording of the oral argument before the Supreme Court.

• U.S. Supreme Court decision in Cohen v. California (the "Fuck the Draft" case). Real Audio recording of the oral argument before the Supreme Court.

• May 1995 N.Y. State district court decision in Stratton Oakmont v. Prodigy, ruling that Prodigy is a "publisher."

• Interactive Services Association's amicus brief in Stratton Oakmont v. Prodigy.

• U.S. District Court decision in Cubby v. Compuserve, ruling that Compuserve is held to the standard of a library with regard to its content.

• A federal court in Pennsylvania has issued a decision holding that America Online is not a public forum and can thus ban junk e-mail from its system.

• Professor Lawrence Tribe's 1991 Computers Freedom and Privacy keynote speech on The Constitution in Cyberspace.

Anonymous Speech

• McIntyre v. Ohio. 1995 Supreme Court decision upholding the right to distribute anonymous political leaflets. Real Audio recording of the oral argument before the Supreme Court.

• Talley v. California. 1960 Supreme Court decision upholding the right to anonymous speech.

• Georgia Tech University WWW poll finds online users strongly support anonymous net use and oppose commercial sale of personal information.