Understanding Freedom of Speech in the Digital Age

Chapter 3.1-3.3: Freedom of Speech I See Dilbert cartoons about freedom of speech: http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2005-10-02/ http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/1992-01-12/

Quiz Question 1 The First Amendment divides communications media into three broad categories: Print, Broadcast, Internet Newspapers, Telegraph, Radio Print, Broadcast, Common carriers Postal system, Radio, Television None of the above

Quiz Question 1 Answer (p. 145) C Print media (newspapers, books, magazines, etc) Broadcast (TV, radio) Common carriers (telephone, postal system)

Quiz Question 2 Which communications medium has been traditionally afforded the strongest First Amendment protection? Print Broadcast Common carriers None of the above

Quiz Question 2 Answer (p. 145) A. Print Why is this the case?

Quiz Question 3 What has traditionally been the main argument for denying First Amendment protections to broadcast media? There is an overabundance of broadcasting frequencies. There is a scarcity of broadcasting frequencies. Broadcast content reaches a large audience. Broadcast content is potentially harmful. None of the above

Quiz Question 3 Answer(p. 146) B “The main argument used to deny full First Amendment protection to broadcasters was scarcity of broadcast frequencies. There were only a handful of television channels and a few radio frequencies in the early days of broadcasting” (p. 146, top paragraph). What is a secondary argument still used to impose restrictions on content?

Quiz Question 4 According to the book, the First Amendment is a restriction on the power of government, not individuals or private businesses. True False

Quiz Question 4 Answer(p. 148) A. True “The First Amendment is a restriction on the power of government, not individuals or private businesses. Publishers do not have to publish material they consider offensive, poorly written, or unlikely to appeal to their customers for any reason” (p. 148 second paragraph).”

Quiz Question 5 Within the context of the First Amendment, a law is said to have a “chilling effect” if it forbids speech that is obscene or lurid. it specifically defines a form of illegal speech. it allows speech that would otherwise be illegal. it compels people to avoid legal speech.

Quiz Question 5 Answer(p. 148) D “When a government action or law causes people to avoid legal speech and publication out of fear of prosectution—perhaps because the law is vague—the action or law is said to have a ‘chilling effect’ on First Amendment rights. Courts generally rule that laws with a significant chilling effect are unconstitutional.”

Quiz Question 6 According to the book, the following can be said about the government’s ability to restrict speech: The First Amendment allows the government to restrict speech all it wants. The First Amendment forbids the government from restricting speech, period. When the government is paying for an entity (e.g., a program or agency), the government can restrict the speech of that entity, even if that speech would otherwise be constitutionally protected. None of the above

Quiz Question 6 Answer(p. 148) C “No matter what side of these issues you are on, no matter how the policy changes with different presidents or Congresses, the point is that, in many circumstances, when the government pays, it can choose to restrict speech that would otherwise be constitutionally protected” (p. 148, last line of last full paragraph).

Quiz Question 7 Obscene speech is protected by the First Amendment. True False

Quiz Question 7 Answer(pp. 150-151) B. False Miller v. California Supreme Court Case (1973) established three standards for identifying obscene speech, which is not protected by the First Amendment: • It depicts sexual or excretory acts whose depiction is specifically prohibited by state law • It depicts these acts in a patently offensive manner, appealing to prurient (i.e. having/encouraging an excessive interest in sexual matters) interest as judged by a reasonable person • It has no serious literary, artistic, social, political, or scientific value Individuals who have posted materials on the Internet that do not meet the above standards in their own state have been successfully convicted of a crime in another state from which the material was accessed, and in which the material did meet the above standards.

Quiz Question 8 The Telecommunications Act of 1996 established that Internet service providers cannot be held liable for content provided by third parties. established that Internet service providers can be held liable for content provided by third parties. established that the main parts of the Communications Decency Act were unconstitutional. added restrictions on many services that telecommunications companies provide. None of the above

Quiz Question 8 Answer(p. 147) A “[The TA of 1996] significantly clarified the question of liability of Internet service providers (ISPs) and other online service providers for content posted by third parties such as members and subscribers. No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider” (p. 147, top paragraph).

Quiz Question 9 According to the ruling of a 1994 court case involving a Tennessee man who downloaded explicit pictures from a computer bulletin board in California, a computer site must abide by only the laws of the community in which it operates. a computer site must abide by the laws of any community from which the site can be accessed. a computer site must clearly post a disclaimer that indicates that it is operating according to its local laws and that the laws of other places may be different. None of the above

Quiz Question 9 Answer(p. 151) B The gray box on p. 151 discusses the case. The operators of the California bulletin board were prosecuted in Tennessee according to local laws, and placed in jail for violating those laws, even though they were not in violation of any laws in California.

Quiz Question 10 The Communications Decency Act of 1996 was declared unconstitutional for the following reason(s): Its definition of inappropriate material was too restrictive. It failed to use the least restrictive means of accomplishing its goal. The laws it mandated were not significantly different from existing local laws. All of the above None of the above

Quiz Question 10 Answer(p. 153) B “The courts accepted two main arguments against the CDA: that it was too vague and that it did not use the least restrictive means of accomplishing its goal of protecting children...When the governing is pursuing a legitimate goal that might infringe on free speech (in this case, the protection of children), it must use the least restrictive means of accomplishing the goal.”

Quiz Question 11 In order to avoid the problems of previous legislation to prevent minors from accessing sexually explicit material, the Child Internet Protection Act of 2000: focused specifically on the scientifically-validated negative effects of the material on minors. focused specifically on restricting materials classified as obscene. required schools and libraries that receive certain federal funding to install filters on their Internet terminals. All of the above None of the above

Quiz Question 11 Answer(p. 158) B “The authors of CIPA attempted to avoid the courts’ criticisms of the CDA and COPA by using the federal government’s funding power...CIPA requires that schools and libraries that participate in certain federal programs...install filtering software on all Internet terminals.”

Quiz Question 12 America Online (AOL) and other large internet member service companies have won large lawsuits against commercial spammers on the following grounds: Spam uses the recipient’s company property and imposes economic costs on the recipient company. Filtering software in itself does not provide adequate protection against unwanted e-mail. Spam is not protected by free speech because it is used for commercial purposes. None of the above

Quiz Question 12 Answer(p. 162) A “We listed several arguments why a service provider should be free to filter incoming mail. One argument [supports] injunctions against the spammers:...the argument that the spam uses the recipient company’s property (computer system) against its wishes and imposes a cost on the recipient.”

Discussion Exercise #1:Company Blogging (Clicker) 3.7 (p. 189) A large company has a policy prohibiting employees from blogging about company products. Does this violate the First Amendment? Yes No Not sure Take 2 minutes to discuss reasons for the policy with your group, and see if you can come to a consensus answer.

Discussion Exercise #2:TV as Invasive (Clicker) 3.8 (p. 189) One of the arguments used to justify increased government control of television content is that it is “invasive.” It comes into the home and is more difficult to keep from children. Do you think this argument is strong enough to outweigh the First Amendment? Yes No Not sure Take 5 minutes to discuss this question with your group. Consider whether the argument is more or less valid for the Internet, and give reasons.

For Tuesday In-Class Activity... We’ll do group discussions of First Amendment issues, and have spokespeople present, much as we did last Tuesday. To prepare, think about the Class Discussion exercises on pp. 191-192 of your text.

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Understanding Freedom of Speech in the Digital Age