Menu Search Account

LegiStorm

Get LegiStorm App Visit Product Demo Website
» Get LegiStorm App
» Get LegiStorm Pro Free Demo

Internet Indecency: The Supreme Court Decision on the Communications Decency Act (CRS Report for Congress)

Premium   Purchase PDF for $24.95 (4 pages)
add to cart or subscribe for unlimited access
Release Date July 1, 1997
Report Number 97-660
Report Type Report
Authors Henry Cohen, American Law Division
Source Agency Congressional Research Service
Summary:

In Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union , No. 96-511 (June 26, 1997), the Supreme Court, by a 7-2 vote, declared unconstitutional two provisions of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) that prohibited indecent communications to minors on the Internet. The CDA is Title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, P.L. 104-104 . Section 502 of the Act rewrote 47 U.S.C. Section 223(a) and added subsections (d) through (h) to 47 U.S.C. Section 223. It did not amend subsections (b) or (c), which restrict commercial dial-a-porn services. In Reno v. ACLU , the Supreme Court struck down Section 223(a) in part and Section 223(d) in whole.