While freedom of speech is a defining characteristic of the United States, the First Amendment right is often regulated within certain environments. For years, schools have attempted to monitor and regulate student communication both within the educational environment and in student use of social media and other online communication tools.…

One central controversy with youth sexting is that adolescents may be prosecuted under child pornography and obscenity statutes that were originally created to protect children from sexual exploitation perpetrated by adults and do not adequately address consensual teen behavior. Due to this concern, many states have implemented laws specifically…

Comments on the Meese Report on pornography and why the library community should pay attention to the actual text. Positive alternatives to censorship are suggested to counter the commercialization of sex, e.g., giving women more decisive roles in media production and strengthening alternative media. (EM)

Detailed analyses of three Supreme Court cases dealing with the First Amendment that are awaiting oral argument are provided. The cases are Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Philadelphia Newspaper, Inc. v. Hepps, and city of Renton v. Playtime Theaters, Inc. (RM)

A collection of 12 articles, this yearbook focuses on freedom of speech and censorship. The topics covered include (1) common law tort and contract erosion of the at will rule, (2) the Supreme Court and the First Amendment in 1983-1984, (3) a phenomenological analysis of the First Amendment and the issue of obscenity, (4) John Milton's attack on…

Discusses the control of pornography on the Internet. Highlights include the Communications Decency Act (CDA); "Time" magazine's article on cyberporn and critiques of it; the unconstitutionality of the CDA under First Amendment protection of free speech; and non-legislative software solutions, including PICS (Platform for Internet…

Summarizes the findings of the Meese Commission on Pornography, and reviews several publications that responded to these findings. Issues considered include civil liberties, Christian fundamentalism, feminism, and the public health. A full bibliography of sources is provided. (CLB)

Rather than focus on "who" makes the determination about students' access to sexually explicit expression, this volume examines the legal issues affecting "whether" to permit that access and "how much" access to allow. In sum, this book is intended to facilitate meaningful discussion about the regulation of minors'…

Discusses libraries' uses of filters to prevent access to objectionable sites on the Internet. Highlights include the American Library Association's resolution against filters as a violation of First Amendment rights; patron's use of terminals for e-mail or games; using filters for collection management; and listservs and online resources…

Examines attitudes about and exposure to sexually explicit materials for 663 predominantly Caucasian college students (52.4% males and 47.6% females). Most agree on a general definition of pornography and think that sexually explicit materials should be available to adults. College students do not seem more liberal than the general population.…

Documentation of the spread of censorship is extensive, and although challenges to films and videocassettes have not figured prominently in the literature, in the future there may be more emphasis on these media than on print material. On the state level, increasing censorship of films and videocassettes has occurred in North Carolina, California,…

Suggests that a definitive court ruling is needed to better define rights and responsibilities related to the First Amendment and libraries' Internet use policies so that libraries can provide a comfortable environment for users while maintaining the law. Discusses filters; court cases; claims of the anti-porn cult; research studies on how much of…

In October, 1998, Congress enacted the Child Online Protection Act and established the Commission on Online Child Protection (COPA) to study methods to help reduce access by minors to certain sexually explicit material, defined in the statute as harmful to minors. Congress directed the Commission to evaluate the accessibility, cost, and…

The appendices for the Commission on Child Online Protection (COPA) Report to Congress, October 20, 2000, include the following: Commission overview, which includes scope and timeline, original statute, amended statute, technologies and methods, and biographies of the commissioners; Commission finances; Commission meetings for the year 2000;…

Campus and administrative concerns about pornography on campus are increasing, including controversy over sale of periodicals on campus, screening of sexually explicit movies, student participation in films as actors, and education of students about social issues related to pornography. (MSE)