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IP: HIGH COURT UPHOLDS LAW BANNING 'OBSCENE' E-MAIL
From: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Thu, 22 Apr 1999 08:36:59 -0400
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a provision of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 outlawing the distribution of indecent e-mail for the purpose of harassing other people does not violate free-speech rights. The law applies to e-mail that is "obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, or indecent with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass another person." ApolloMedia, developer of the annoy.com Web site, had challenged the law as an infringement of free speech. Annoy.com allows users to send anonymous communications to public officials. The Supreme Court justices backed a lower court's ruling that the provision applies only to "obscenity." ApolloMedia had argued that terms of the provision extend beyond obscenity and leave the company open to being criminally prosecuted because its communications could be judged indecent by some. (Washington Post 04/20/99)
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