High School

True or False: The first major national attempt to protect children from adult-oriented information on the internet was the Communications Decency Act of 1996.

Answer :

True, the Communications Decency Act of 1996 was the first major national attempt to protect children from adult-oriented information on the Internet but was struck down by the Supreme Court in Reno v. ACLU (1997).

The statement that the first major national attempt to protect children from adult-oriented information on the internet was the Communications Decency Act of 1996 is true. This Act made it a federal crime to knowingly transmit to a minor or post on a website where a minor might visit any obscene, indecent, or patently offensive picture or text. Although the Act was signed into law by President Clinton, it faced immediate legal challenges, and the Supreme Court unanimously struck it down in Reno v. ACLU (1997). The Court's decision was based on the principle that the level of discourse on the Internet could not be restricted to what is suitable for children, citing that "The level of discourse reaching a mailbox cannot be limited to that which would be suitable for a sandbox." Subsequently, the Child Online Protection Act of 1998 was passed as a replacement to the Communications Decency Act, but it too faced legal challenges and was ultimately not upheld.