17
tion Act. The act forced all commercial Internet sites that distrib-
uted material considered by contemporary community standards
to be harmful to minors to prevent minors from accessing their
sites. The law was immediately blocked by the courts because the
law would apply to any depiction of nudity, sexual acts, or any-
thing else that provoked sexual thoughts. After a series of court
battles, it was overturned in 2007.
Portions of the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996
were also challenged in the courts. The act criminalized virtual
child pornography—which included any pornography that appears
to be performed by a minor (such as adults dressed as children).
It also criminalized any image that conveys the impres-
sion that a minor is engaging in sex (such as when it is
implied that an underage actor has had sex off-screen).
The Free Speech Coalition challenged the law in 2002,
claiming that the law would criminalize famous works of
art such as Shakespeare’s
Romeo and Juliet
. In
Ashcroft v.
Free Speech Coalition
, the Supreme Court struck down
these provisions of the act. In the court’s decision, Justice
Anthony Kennedy wrote, “The statute prohibits the vi-
sual depiction of an idea—that of teenagers engaging in
sexual activity—that is a fact of modern society and has
been a theme in art and literature throughout the ages.”
11
In 2003 the PROTECT Act (which stands for Pros-
ecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploi-
tation of Children Today) included the reinstatement of the ban
on virtual child pornography. This includes computer-generated
images that are indistinguishable from pornography involving
actual children (for instance, images that have been altered with
software like Photoshop). Although the ban was again challenged,
it was eventually upheld by the Supreme Court in 2008. The ban
also includes the possession of art or illustrations depicting child
pornography (such as cartoons depicting children having sex) be-
cause the images can be used by pedophiles to entice children to
perform sexual acts (a process known as “grooming”). Currently,
these representations of child pornography are legal in many other
countries and therefore can be easily found online.
“The level of
discourse
reaching a mailbox
simply cannot be
limited to that
which would be
suitable for a
sandbox.”
10
— Supreme Court justice John
Paul Stevens on why the
indecency provision in the
Communications Decency
Act is unconstitutional.
