Leading up to the separation of the CDA and Section 230

An Act of Decency Deferred: Net Reacts to Setback for Controversial Law

This article talks about the Philadelphia federal court that barred the enforcement of the CDA until the Supreme Court could rule on its online speech restrictions. The article mentions organizations and sites that either mentioned the ruling, or made no mention of it at all.

White House Opposes Censorship of Internet: But Support of '96 Decency Act is Unchanged

This article talks about how the Clinton White House said they would not support any new laws to regulate material on the internet, but will continue to back the CDA.

"Although officials acknowledged that the conclusions of the report and the Internet act sound contradictory, they stressed that it does not mean the administration has backed away from the law."

(Excerpt from Washington Post article)

A VICTORY FOR FREE SPEECH ON THE NET

"Exon and others have claimed all along that the CDA was designed to keep cyberporn from the eyes of children. The judges, however, declared that the CDA's terms 'indecent' and 'patently offensive' were vague and specific violations to the CDA not defined. They said that by removing from the Internet what may be obviously inappropriate for children you necessarily restrict discriminating adults from viewing the same material. 'Laws regulating speech for the protection of children have no limiting principal,' the judges said, 'and a wellintentioned law restricting protected speech on the basis of its content is, nevertheless, state-sponsored censorship.'"

"'...the Internet may fairly be regarded as a never-ending worldwide conversation," they said. "The government may not, through the CDA, interrupt that conversation. As the most participatory form of mass speech yet developed, the Internet deserves the highest protection from government intrusion.'" - The Philadelphia Judges

This Daily Hampshire Gazette article talks about the Philadelphia court ruling that blocked the enforcement of the CDA and sent it to the Supreme Court.

HIGH COURT PLANS TO RULE ON INTERNET DECENCY LAW

"In the appeal acted on today, Clinton administration lawyers said the three-judge court's ruling 'imperils the government's ability to protect children from . . . sexually explicit material that is now widely disseminated on the Internet.'"

"Challengers of the federal law told the justices its effect 'would be to deprive adult Internet users of their right to send and receive constitutionally protected speech that deals with sexual issues.'"

"The federal law was challenged by 57 plaintiffs - including civil libertarians, computer businesses, online services, newspaper publishers and librarians."

(Excerpts from a Seattle Times article)

INTERNET OBSCENITY LAW GOES TO COURT \ JUSTICES AGREE TO HEAR GROUNDBREAKING FREE-SPEECH CASE. DECISION LIKELY TO SET STANDARD FOR CYBERSPACE.

"The high court's ruling, expected by July, is likely to prescribe the limits of government regulation of a unique, fast-growing medium well into the 21st century. An estimated 40 million people use the Internet, a figure expected to increase to 200 million by 1999. About 60 percent of the estimated 9.4 million host computers connected to the Internet are in the United States."

"They [those who brought the suit] said the law would stifle Internet discussions of such topics as gay life, AIDS, contraception and prisoner rape. The targets of the law, they said, are far broader than obscenity and child pornography, which are already illegal."

(Excerpts from the Akron Beacon Journal)

This article talks about the CDA and it's obscenity laws, and how the Philadelphia case sets up the Supreme Court decision.