In a ruling likely to have a significant impact on the future of the Internet, a special three-judge federal court on June 12 declared the Communications Decency Act unconstitutional on its face. The landmark decision came in a legal challenge initiated by the ACLU, EPIC and 18 other plaintiffs.
EPIC is both a plaintiff and co-counsel in the litigation.
The lengthy ruling consists of separate opinions authored by the three members of the federal court panel. While the three judges differed in their approaches to the legal issues raised in the case, they were unanimous in their strong conclusions that the CDA constitutes a clear violation of the First Amendment. When Congress decided that material unsuitable for minors was available on the Internet, it could have chosen to assist and support the development of technology that would enable parents, schools, and libraries to screen such material from their end. Instead, in the CDA Congress chose to place on the speakers the obligation of screening the material that would possibly offend some communities. Prosecutors come and go.