Home : Privacy & Technology : Internet Free Speech

The Court has ruled that Grokster can be sued if its software is used to illegally swap music and movies. The Court also said cable companies can deny rivals access to broadband lines.

The ACLU's vision of an uncensored Internet was clearly shared by the U.S. Supreme Court when it struck down the 1996 Communications Decency Act (CDA), a federal law that outlawed "indecent" communications online. Ruling unanimously in Reno v. ACLU, the Court declared the Internet to be a free speech zone, deserving of at least as much First Amendment protection as that afforded to books, newspapers and magazines. The government, the Court said, can no more restrict a person's access to words or images on the Internet than it could be allowed to snatch a book out of a reader's hands in the library, or cover over a statue of a nude in a museum.

The importance of the Internet as the "the most participatory form of mass speech yet developed," requires that the courts perpetually uphold the freedom of speech.

ACLU Urges Court To Uphold Ban On Unconstitutional Censorship Law (06/10/2008)
PHILADELPHIA - The American Civil Liberties Union is in court today, once again urging the courts to uphold a ban on a law that criminalizes constitutionally protected speech on the Internet. The Child Online Protection Act (COPA) would impose draconian criminal sanctions, with penalties of up to $50,000 per day and up to six months imprisonment, for online material acknowledged as protected for adults but deemed "harmful to minors."

ACLU Lawsuit Seeks Access to Lawful Information on Internet for Library Patrons in Eastern Washington (11/16/2006)
SPOKANE, WA - Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, three library users and a nonprofit organization today brought a lawsuit to ensure that patrons of a library system in Eastern Washington have access to useful and lawful information on the Internet.

After ACLU of Colorado Intervention, High School Student Suspended for Off-Campus Internet Posting Is Back in School (02/21/2006)
LITTLETON, CO -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado announced today that an agreement has been reached between Littleton High School and school authorities and junior Bryan Lopez, who was suspended for posting satirical commentary about the school the Internet.

Utah Businesses, Free Speech Groups and Individuals Challenge Restrictions on Internet Speech (06/09/2005)
SALT LAKE CITY -- Citing free speech and interstate commerce violations, the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah today joined a broad based group of bookstores, artistic and informative Web sites, Internet Service Providers and national trade associations in filing a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a Utah law meant to restrict children's access to material on the Internet.

ACLU of Rhode Island Files Open Records Lawsuit Against North Smithfield (06/01/2005)
NORTH SMITHFIELD, RI -- For the third time in two years, the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island has taken legal action against the town of North Smithfield, this time for a violation of the state's open records law. Today's lawsuit challenges a requirement by the town that any individual seeking access to an online database of public records must first provide personal information.

Open Access Supplemental Technical Report (02/18/2005)
Technological Analysis of Open Access and Cable TV - Supplemental Analysis, by Columbia Telecommunications Corp. for the ACLU

Censorship in a Box: Why Blocking Software is Wrong for Public Libraries (09/16/2002)

No Competition: How Monopoly Control of the Broadband Internet Threatens Free Speech (07/07/2002)

Pretrial Brief in Multnomah v. US Filed by the ACLU (03/17/2002)

Fahrenheit 451.2: Is Cyberspace Burning? (03/17/2002)
How Rating and Blocking Proposals May Torch Free Speech on the Internet

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd. et al v. Wikileaks et al -- Notice of Appearance (02/26/2008)

Legal Briefs in Ashcroft v. ACLU (02/24/2004)
All legal briefs pertaining to the Supreme Court's revisitation of COPA, the Child Online Protection Act

ACLU's Merits Brief for the Respondents in Ashcroft v. ACLU II (02/12/2004)

Text of the Council on Europe's Convention on Cybercrime Treaty (12/03/2003)

Amicus brief by the Family Research Council in Ashcroft v. ACLU II (11/25/2003)

Coalition Letter to House Judiciary Chairman Sensenbrenner and Ranking Member Conyers Expressing Concerns and Urging the Committee to Delay the Markup of H.R. 3754, "The Fraudulent Online Identity Sanctions Act" (05/04/2004)

Letter on S. 151, The Prosecutorial Remedies and Tools Against the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003 (02/05/2003)

Letter to the Senate on S. 151, The Prosecutorial Remedies and Tools Against the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003 (01/29/2003)

Letter to the Senate Urging Opposition to S. 2537/H.R. 3833/H.R. 3833, the "Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002" (11/06/2002)

Interested Persons Memo on H.R. 3833, the Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002 (05/20/2002)

Monopoly Control of Broadband Internet Threatens Free Speech (03/29/2005)

Speech at Risk Under COPA (02/27/2004)

Melvin v. Doe (01/15/2004)
Featurette on the privacy case of Melvin v. Doe

International Cybercrime Treaty (12/18/2003)
Feature on the International Cybercrime Treaty

Library filtering after US v. ALA: What does it all mean and what should we do (08/01/2003)
ACLU Memo: Library filtering after US v. ALA: What does it all mean and what should we do

Supreme Court and COPA (05/15/2002)
A summary of the Supreme Court's decision in ACLU v. Ashcroft concerning the Child Online Protection Act

Fact Sheet on Children's Internet Protection Act (04/20/2002)
The ACLU argued in court that a federal law that forces libraries to censor constitutionally protected speech online (CIPA) is unconstitutional and should be thrown out.