Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/16pdf/15-1194_08l1.pdf
Page Number: 22

Cite as:  582 U. S. ____ (2017) 

9 

ALITO, J., concurring in judgment 

pages:  Users  can  upload  a  picture  and  some  basic  infor-
mation  about  themselves,  and  other  users  can  see  their 
aggregated comments and “likes.”14  WebMD also provides
message  boards,  which  are  specifically  mentioned  in  the 
statute  as  a  “mechanis[m]  to  communicate  with  other 
users.”  N. C. Gen. Stat. Ann. §14–202.5(b)(4). 

As  these  examples  illustrate,  the  North  Carolina  law 
has  a  very  broad  reach  and  covers  websites  that  are  ill
suited for use in stalking or abusing children.  The focus of 
the  discussion  on  these  sites—shopping,  news,  health—
does not provide a convenient jumping off point for conver-
sations  that  may  lead  to  abuse.  In  addition,  the  social 
exchanges facilitated by these websites occur in the open,
and  this  reduces  the  possibility  of  a  child  being  secretly 
lured into an abusive situation.  These websites also give
sex  offenders  little  opportunity  to  gather  personal  details 
about a child; the information that can be listed in a pro-
file  is  limited,  and  the  profiles  are  brief.    What  is  more, 
none of these websites make it easy to determine a child’s 
precise location at a given moment.  For example, they do
not permit photo streams (at most, a child could upload a
single  profile  photograph),  and  they  do  not  include  up-to-
the minute location services.  Such websites would provide
essentially no aid to a would-be child abuser.

Placing this set of websites categorically off limits from 
registered  sex  offenders  prohibits  them  from  receiving  or 
engaging  in  speech  that  the  First  Amendment  protects
and  does  not  appreciably  advance  the  State’s  goal  of  pro-
tecting children from recidivist sex offenders.  I am there-
fore  compelled  to  conclude  that,  while  the  law  before  us 
addresses  a  critical  problem,  it  sweeps  far  too  broadly  to 
satisfy the demands of the Free Speech Clause.15 

—————— 

14 See  WebMD,  Change  Your  Profile  Settings  (Feb.  19,  2014),  http:// 

www.webmd.com/about-webmd-policies/profile. 

15 I express no view on whether a law that does not reach the sort of