Media Coalition and Internet Law
Since 1997, Media Coalition's successful challenges to the application of state "harmful to minors" laws to the Internet have established the definitive body of law protecting free expression on the Internet. These laws barred the dissemination of material with sexual content to anyone - including adults - in spite of other existing, equally effective means for shielding children alone. The laws violated a basic constitutional principle that the state cannot limit Internet speech to only what is acceptable for minors at the expense of adults' rights. Media Coalition has succeeded in all of our challenges to these laws, thereby protecting retailers' and content providers' rights to make the broadest range of constitutionally protected material available on the Internet.
Laws applying state "harmful to minors" law to the Internet were found unconstitutional in the following Media Coalition challenges:
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decisions:
- ABFFE v. Coakley, WL 4273802 (D. Mass, 2010) (Massachusetts law)
- ABFFE v. Cordray (decided as ABFFE v. Strickland) 601 F.3d 622 (6th Cir. 2010)(Ohio law)
- PSINet v. Chapman, 342 F. 3d 227 (4th Cir. 2004) (Virginia law)
- ABFFE v. Dean 342 F. 2d 86 (2nd Cir. 2003) (Vermont law)
- ACLU v. Johnson, 194 F. 3d 1149 (10th Cir. 1999) (New Mexico law
U.S. District Court decisions:
- ACLU v. Goddard, No. Civ. 00-0505 TUC-AM (D. Ariz. Aug. 11, 2004) (Arizona law)
- Southeast Booksellers v. McMasters, 282 F. Supp. 2d 389 (D.S.C. 2003) (South Carolina law)
- ALA v. Pataki, 969 F. Supp. 160 (S. D. N. Y. 1997) (New York law)
Additionally, Media Coalition has provided amicus support to challenges brought by its members and others in the following Internet challenges where our members have been plaintiffs:
In the U.S. Supreme Court:
- ACLU v. Mukasey, 534 F. 3d 181 (3d Cir. 2008), cert. den. 129 Sup. Ct. 1032 (2009) (Child Online Protection Act) (Federal law)
- ACLU v. Reno, 521 U.S. 884 (1997) (Communications Decency Act) (Federal law)
In U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal:
• Cyberspace Communications, Inc. v. Engler, 238 F. 3d 420 (6th Cir. 2000) (Michigan law)
Despite Media Coalition's success in these challenges and the growing body of law, states have continued to pass laws that regulate Internet content through unconstitutional means. Media Coalition has a challenge pending to a broad Utah law that bars dissemination to minors of "harmful to minors" material and requires the Attorney General to create a blacklist of all websites that contain such material. In 2010, Media Coalition obtained a preliminary injunction against Alaska's harmful to minors law, which bans from the Internet sexaul content that adults have a First Amendment right to view. In challenging these laws, Media Coalition has been a critical advocate for First Amendment rights on the Internet.
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