The Justice Department has decided to appeal the case to the Supreme
Court. On the bright side, judging by President Clinton's press release it sounds as if
the Administration will offer the same lukewarm defense of the CDA that it
did in Philadelphia.
The Communications Decency Act was signed into law on February 8 as part
of a comprehensive overhaul of telecommunications law. If enforced,
anyone making available indecent or patently offensive materials to minors
under 18 could face up to two years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
Immediately after the bill was signed, the ACLU and 19 other organizations filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter issued a temporary restraining order against enforcement of the indeceny provisions, but he declined to issue a restraining order against the patently offensive provisions. However, the government has promised not to prosecute anyone until the District Court rules on the lawsuit.
The following are memos and updates I have written on the CDA. I have also included links to the text of the CDA and other relevant sites.
Cyber-Liberties
The ACLU's bi-weekly e-zine on cyber-liberties cases and
controveries.
NandoNet's
Special coverage on the CDA
Good selections of newspaper articles.
Center for Democracy and
Technology's special section on the CDA.
An excellent source for up to date information.
HotWired
Magazine's CDA Special Issue.
Editorials, rant, raves all in a nicely done page.
News on the CDA
From the ACLU.
Action Alerts
From the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Send examples of 'Net
censorship
To the ACLU.
Act Now!
Urge Janet Reno not to prosecute under the CDA.