Communications Decency Act, The Fight For Freedom of Speech on the Internet

Essay by Ryne CrabbJunior High, 9th gradeA+, December 1996

download word file, 6 pages 3.5

The Communication Decency Act is a bill which has insulted our right as American

citizens. It's a bill which SHOULD not pass. I'll share with you how Internet users are

reacting to this bill, and why they say it is unconstitutional.

Some individuals disagree with one part of the bill. According to

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ query/z?c104:s.652.enr:, which has the Communications

Decency Act on-line for public viewing,: 'Whoever uses an Internet service to send to a

person or persons under 18 years of age......any comment, request, suggestion, proposal,

image,........or anything offensive as measured by contemporary community standards,

sexual or excretory activities or organs.....shall be fined $250,000 if the person(s) is/are

under 18....... imprisoned not more than two years.......or both.'

The wording of that section seems sensible. However, if this one little paragraph is

approved, many sites such as the: Venus de Milo site located at:

http://www.paris.org/Musees/Louvre/Treasures/gifs/venusdemilo.gif; the Sistine Chapel

at: http://www.oir.ucf.edu/wm/paint/auth/michelangelo/michelangelo.creation and

Michelangelo's David @ http://fileroom.aaup.uic.edu/FileRoom/images/image201.gif

could not be accessed and used by anybody under the age of 18. These works of art and

many other museum pictures would not be available. The bill says these sites show

indecent pictures.

The next part of the CDA has everybody in a big legal fit. We, concerned Internet

users, took the writers of this bill to court, and we won.

This part of the bill states: 'Whoever....makes, creates, or solicits...........any

comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication

which is obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, or indecent.......with intent to annoy, abuse,

threaten, or harass another person......by means of an Internet page..........shall be fined

$250,000 under title 18......imprisoned not more than two years....or both......'

The writer of that paragraph of the bill forgot something. It violates the

constitution. The First Amendment states: 'Congress shall make no law....prohibiting or

abridging the freedom of speech......the right of the people...