Spring 2000: "Access Denied, R-Rating, V-Chip": Should Youth Access to the Internet and Mass Media be Restricted? Legal Background Following are legal issues that are central to this summit. Clicking on links will launch a new browser window. Freedom of Speech and the Internet: [Below is the leading Supreme Court case and relevant Congressional act on this subject] (full text of the 1997 Supreme Court case, Reno v. ACLU, which invalidated the 1996 Communications Decency Act passed by Congress) Freedom of Speech: Obscenity [Below are three key cases that the U.S. Supreme Court has decided, during the past fifty years, on obscenity and the First Amendment] (Roth v. U.S., 1957, holding that obscene speech is not protected by the First Amendment) (Miller v. California, 1973, holding that the definition of obscenity in individual cases is to be determined by referring to "contemporary community standards," not national standards) (Barnes v. Glen Theatre, 1991, holding that a state law banning total nudity in public places does not violate the First Amendment because it is an appropriate exercise of the state's police power) Notable First Amendment Cases >>The Issues >>Legal Background >>Interest Groups >>Activities/Lessons >>Other Resources Spring 2000 Summit Home | The Issues | Summit | Pilot Classrooms | Discussion | Experts | Student Poll National Online Youth Summit Home