The federal Child Pornography Prevention Act goes too far by outlawing not only sexual images of actual children, but images that only appear to be minors, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. Barring child pornography is clearly constitutional, the court ruled, but outlawing images that do not involve the use of real children violates the First Amendment rights of people in the adult entertainment industry. The balance of the Child Pornography Prevention Act is constitutional when the two phrases are stricken. The appeal was filed on behalf of The Free Speech Coalition, a group of adult filmmakers, publishers, distributors and others in the industry. Nobody is endorsing kiddie porn.
Nobody wants to be subject to a rule based on what someone thinks someone looks like.
The U.S. Justice Department did not return a call Friday seeking comment. Inc. All rights reserved.