Today's decision by the US Supreme Court sent a clear message about the importance of context for making decisions about what we see online. It was bad news for victims of online harassment and their advocates but good news for parents of kids not thinking about the impact of their online speech and actions. "The Supreme Court ruled in favor of "a Pennsylvania man who posted several violent … [Read more...] about Supreme Court decision & our kids: About context not free speech
Supreme Court
Supreme Court: Videogames, as other arts, are protected speech
The decision most probably settles the question of whether state laws can ban sales of violent videogames without violating the First Amendment. In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court has struck down a California law that "tried to make the sale or rental of mature-rated video games to underage consumers an illegal offense punishable by fine," Time reported. It was a landmark decision because, in a … [Read more...] about Supreme Court: Videogames, as other arts, are protected speech
Supreme Court to consider CA videogame law
The Supreme Court will consider whether a 2005 California state law banning the sale of violent videogames to minors is unconstitutional, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The law would bar the sale of any videogame to anyone under 18 if, the Chronicle says, it "was so violent it was 'patently offensive' according to prevailing community standards for minors, and lacked literary, artistic, … [Read more...] about Supreme Court to consider CA videogame law
COPA laid to rest
Remember COPA, the Child Online Protection Act that was passed in 1998, a year after the Supreme Court struck down similar legislation concerning objectionable online content (the Communications Decency Act, or CDA)? COPA was blocked almost immediately on constitutional grounds by a federal court in Philadelphia, then bounced back and forth a couple of times between that court and the Supreme … [Read more...] about COPA laid to rest