[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 92 (Thursday, June 26, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S6557]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN THE COMMUNICATION DECENCY ACT

 Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise to applaud today's U.S. 
Supreme Court decision striking down the Communications Decency Act as 
an unconstitutional restriction of free speech on the Internet, 
affirming the 1996 lower court decision.
  In striking down the provisions of the CDA, which effectively censors 
the speech of adults on the Internet, the Court stated ``We agree with 
the District Court's conclusion that the CDA places an unacceptably 
heavy burden on protected speech.'' The Court concluded that the CDA 
``threatens to torch a large segment of the Internet community.''
  Mr. President, this decision is a victory not only for Internet 
users, it is a victory for all Americans who hold the first amendment 
right to free speech among their most cherished rights.
  The Senator from Vermont [Senator Leahy] and I spoke in opposition to 
the CDA when it was first brought to the Senate floor in 1995 during 
consideration of the Telecommunications Act. The high court decision 
pointed out the many flaws of the CDA that the Senator from Vermont and 
I raised before the legislation was approved. Among other concerns, we 
pointed out that indecency restrictions which have been upheld when 
applied to other media, were unconstitutional when applied to the 
Internet due to its unique nature. We urged our colleagues to study the 
problem and the potential solutions more carefully before they rushed 
headlong to pass what we knew to be unconstitutional legislation. 
Ultimately, the CDA passed the Senate in June 1995 with only 2 hours of 
debate and no Congressional hearings. The lack of congressional 
consideration of the CDA's problems was among the reasons cited by the 
Court in its finding that the act violated the first amendment. In 
failing to carefully examine the problem, the Congress merely tied the 
CDA up in Court for over a year while getting no closer to its goal of 
protecting children on the Internet.
  Both the Supreme Court, and the lower court before it, conducted an 
exhaustive review of the nature of the Internet and of the technologies 
that exist to protect children and concluded that the CDA was an 
unconstitutional restriction on the free speech of adults that was not 
narrowly tailored to the goal of protecting kids on the Net.
  Specifically, Mr. President, the Supreme Court found that:
  Other laws restricting speech that have been upheld by the Supreme 
Court are substantially different from the CDA. Fundamentally, the 
Court determined that unlike other media that have been subject to some 
speech restrictions, the Internet receives full first amendment 
protection. Additionally, the Court pointed out that restrictions 
previously upheld by the High Court have been time, place and manner 
restrictions, rather than ``content-based blanket restriction on 
speech.'' Those differences bring into question the constitutionality 
of the CDA rather than confirming it.
  The characteristics of other media that have some speech 
restrictions, such as the scarcity of broadcast spectrum and the 
invasive nature of broadcast media, do not apply to the Internet.

  The combination of criminal penalties for violations and the vague 
nature of the ``indecency'' prohibition will chill speech on the 
Internet because speakers will not know which speech is prohibited and 
which is acceptable.
  The breadth of the indecency standard in the CDA is unprecedented.
  The CDA attempts to protect children by suppressing constitutionally 
protected speech of adults. This burden of speech is constitutionally 
unacceptable because less restrictive means of achieving the 
Government's goal are available.
  Mr. President, the Supreme Court correctly struck down the 
Communications Decency Act. While this decision precludes enforcement 
of the act, Congress should act quickly to repeal the CDA. It is time 
to conduct a thorough and thoughtful review of constitutional methods 
to protect children on the Internet from those who would seek to harm 
them.
  Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to read today's Supreme Court 
decision striking down the Communications Decency Act and work toward 
more effective solutions to protect our kids.

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