In a landmark 1997 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the Internet is a unique medium entitled to the highest protection under the free speech protections of the First Amendment to the US Constitution. This gives the Internet same free speech protection as print. The Internet is the first electronic media to achieve this because of low barriers to access, abundance, many speakers, no gatekeepers.
The Court struck down the Communications Decency Act (CDA), Congress' first attempt to censor speech online. Writing for the court, Justice John Paul Stevens held that "the CDA places an unacceptably heavy burden on protected speech" and found that all provisions of the CDA are unconsitutional as they apply to "indecent" or "patently offensive" speech. In a separate concurrence, Chief Justice William Rhenquist and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor agreed that the provisions of the CDA are all unconstitutional except in their narrow application to "communications between an adult and one or more minors."
The Communications Decency Act was passed in February 1996. The CDA imposed broadcast-style content regulations on the open, decentralized Internet and severely restricted the first amendment rights of all Americans. CDT strongly opposed this legislation because it threatened the very existence of the Internet as a means for free expression, education, and political discourse. Although well intentioned, the CDA was ineffective and failed to recognize the unique nature of this global, decentralized medium.
The CDA prohibited posting "indecent" or "patently offensive" materials in a public forum on the Internet -- including web pages, newsgroups, chat rooms, or online discussion lists. This would have included the texts of classic fiction such as the "Catcher in the Rye" and "Ulysees", the "7 dirty words", and other materials which, although offensive to some, enjoy the full protection of the First Amendment if published in a newspaper, magazine, or a book, or in the public square. It is also important to note that the CDA was not about child pornography, obscenity, or using the Internet to stalk children. These were already illegal under current law.
On Wednesday June 12, 1996 at 9:00 am, a panel of three federal judges in Philadelphia, PA granted the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition's (CIEC) request for a preliminary injunction against the Communications Decency Act (CDA). In a unanimous decision, the judges ruled that the CDA would unconstitutionally restrict speech on the Internet.
Detailed history of the court case leading to the Supreme Court victory for free speech online
Full legislative history of the CDA, including CDT analyses.