COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT
Jennifer Self
>
THIS WAS A RECENT DISCUSSION TOPIC IN MY MEDIA LAW CLASS. PLEASE SEND YOUR
THOUGHTS ON THE SUBJECT.
Jennifer Self
Junior, Electronic Media Journalism
College of Mass Communication
Middle Tennessee State University
Murfreesboro, TN 37132
> > A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Denver (10th Cir.)
> > recently affirmed a ruling of a federal trial court to enjoin
> > enforcement of a New Mexico law that criminalizes the distribution by
> > computer of material defined as "harmful to a minor."
> >
> > The appellate court found that the 1998 law was overbroad and
> > unconstitutional, even though the statute only referred to
> > intentional communication with a minor via computer when the
> > communication depicted "actual or simulated nudity, sexual intercourse
> > or any other sexual contact."
> >
> > The court relied on the U.S. Supreme Court's 1997 decision in Reno v.
> > ACLU < http://www.aclu.org/court/renovacludec.html >, which held that
> > portions of the Communications Decency Act violated the First Amendment.
> > The federal appellate court in Denver held that the New Mexico statute
> > -- like the CDA -- unconstitutionally burdens otherwise protected adult
> > communication on the Internet."
> >
> > It found that communication the state deems offensive for minors "may
> > very well have social importance and not be patently offensive for
> > adults," and that the statute potentially could criminalize any Internet
> > communication because every time someone sends a communication on the
> > medium -- even one intended solely for adults -- the sender knows that a
> > minor eventually may view the communication.
> >
> > The court also ruled that the statute violates the Constitution's
> > Commerce Clause, which bars states from regulating activity outside its
> > borders.
> >
> > The court found that the suit could proceed even though the state had
> > not yet prosecuted anyone under the statute. "We conclude that the
> > plaintiffs have an actual and well-founded fear that the law will be
> > enforced against them," the court wrote. "Further, the alleged danger of
> > this statute is, in large measure, one of self-censorship; a harm that
> > can be realized even without an actual prosecution."
> >
> > Parties who brought the lawsuit include the American Civil Liberties
> > Union and entities whose speech includes discussions of women's health,
> > literary works and fine art, gay and lesbian issues, prison rapes, and
> > censorship and civil liberties issues. They filed the suit against New
> > Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson and New Mexico Attorney General Patricia
> > Madrid.
> >
> > You can represent either the ACLU or the State of New Mexico. Now,
> > here's a little extra twist: there has been a lot of concern
> > recently about the "dehumanization" of the law. So, in your arguments,
> > please also deal with the human and societal costs of your position.
> >
>
>
>
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Kelly Wolff
You can email your problems to her at <dleit...@krtinfo.com>:
>Hi, Kelly.
>
>I'm giving a session at CMA on Handling Your Personnel. Is there any way
>students could write a short description of a problem they've had with
>managing peers, staff or supervisors? They could e-mail these real-life
>"case studies" to me, which I could then use at talking points during my
>session.
>
>-- Debra Leithauser
>Deputy Managing Editor
>KRT Special Sections
-----------------------------------------------------
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