Panix Challenges New York's
CDA
Panix challenges New York State's "Communication Decency Act" in court, joined by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), American Library Association (ALA) and others. Read more about it!
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees, among other things, that the right to speak freely shall not be abridged, or restricted, by law. The Supreme Court has since determined that broadcast media, such as radio and television, are subject to tighter regulation since access to them cannot be controlled.
The Internet occupies a unique position on this spectrum. The vast majority of Internet traffic in the US is from private citizens speaking for themselves, and yet it's all freely available in a way that only commercial, broadcast media have been until recently.
For nearly twenty years, the Internet has existed as a self-regulating network of computers and people. Now that it's become a household word, legislators are rushing to subject it to the same level of regulation that radio and TV are under, in an effort to impose local "community standards" on the world's first truly global communication form.
Panix opposes these efforts, in court and in practice. We donate time and resources to organizations fighting for free speech, such as Voters' Telecommunications Watch (VTW) and the Society for Electronic Access (SEA). Our rules and policies emphasize freedom of speech within responsible legal limits (like forbidding harassment or privacy violations.)
(We have to comply with the law; the only way we can keep our rights, is to see that laws regulating the Internet don't overstep their Constitutional bounds in the name of "protection.")
We hope you'll do your part to support freedom of speech on the Internet. You don't have to subscribe to Panix to do it, but do follow the links on this page, and add your voice to the debate.
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