Groups Sue Mass. Over Newly Expanded Obscenity Law : NPR
Posted: July 13th, 2010 | Author: Kink On Tap Editorial Staff | Filed under: Briefs | Tags: 50, censorship, law, media, sexuality, technology, youth | Comments Off on Groups Sue Mass. Over Newly Expanded Obscenity Law : NPRWon't somebody please think of the children? That's the reasoning behind a hastily-drafted, newly passed Massachusetts law at the center of a lawsuit filed by the "ACLU, The Association of American Publishers, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and other groups," according to the Associated Press. After a "ruling in a case in February…found that the state's obscenity law didn't apply to instant messages," this new law "added instant messages, text messages, e-mail and other electronic communications to the old law," criminalizing any such communiqué that may be "harmful to minors."
The lawsuit "argues that the changes amount to 'a broad censorship law that imposes severe content-based restrictions' on the dissemination of constitutionally protected speech," including "information about contraception, pregnancy, sexual health, literature and art." Haven't we seen this before?
Audience Participation