wholly outside the state’s borders, but did not strike down the act due to overbreadth. 23 The court noted that ‘‘there is an abundance of evidence that implementation of the Act has resulted in massive suppression of speech protected by the First
Amendment.’’ 24
The complexities of government-led efforts to restrict online speech have given rise
to quasi-voluntary initiatives supported by the force of law. Since possession and distribution of child pornography are criminal acts in the United States, service providers respond to removal requests and report any requests to the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children. In June 2008, the New York state attorney general signed
an agreement with Comcast, AT&T, Inc., AOL, Verizon Communications, Inc., Time
Warner Cable, and Sprint to purge their servers of child pornography identified by
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 25 The agreement attempts
to curtail access to child pornography by implementing a new system to rapidly
identify child pornography images as well as responding to user complaints about
child pornography. In addition, several ISPs agreed to stop supporting access to
Usenet newsgroups, identified by the attorney general’s office as a source of child
pornography.
The desire to protect children from harm online continues to drive efforts at contentbased restrictions on the Internet. Law enforcement agencies use pressure to convince
private companies to take on voluntary Internet regulatory initiatives. Concerns over
child safety online have focused attention on the potential risks associated with time
spent on social network sites such as Facebook and MySpace, where children may
come into contact with sexual predators and be subject to cyberbullying by their peers.
Law enforcement officials in the United States have been vocal in promoting age and
identity verification systems in order to better police online sites frequented by
minors. 26 The Internet Safety Technical Task Force, a group of technology companies,
Internet businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and academics, was brought
together by agreement with 49 U.S. state attorneys general to study the use of technologies by industry and end users to promote Internet safety for minors. The task force
report of January 2009 recommended a model of collaboration among industry groups,
law enforcement, and others rather than implementation of a series of mandatory
technical controls to protect children online.
Another U.S. legislative attempt to control online speech, the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act, would criminalize ‘‘severe, repeated and hostile’’ speech online. 27 This proposed legislation, named after a girl who committed suicide thought to
be induced by online harassment, has been harshly criticized as unnecessary, given the
existing off-line remedies for harassment, and for its potential impact on protected online speech, as it could be applied to many incidents of online speech far beyond the
cyberbullying targeted by the legislation. 28 Seventeen of the 50 states have passed laws
against cyberbullying. 29
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373
Amendment.’’ 24
The complexities of government-led efforts to restrict online speech have given rise
to quasi-voluntary initiatives supported by the force of law. Since possession and distribution of child pornography are criminal acts in the United States, service providers respond to removal requests and report any requests to the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children. In June 2008, the New York state attorney general signed
an agreement with Comcast, AT&T, Inc., AOL, Verizon Communications, Inc., Time
Warner Cable, and Sprint to purge their servers of child pornography identified by
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 25 The agreement attempts
to curtail access to child pornography by implementing a new system to rapidly
identify child pornography images as well as responding to user complaints about
child pornography. In addition, several ISPs agreed to stop supporting access to
Usenet newsgroups, identified by the attorney general’s office as a source of child
pornography.
The desire to protect children from harm online continues to drive efforts at contentbased restrictions on the Internet. Law enforcement agencies use pressure to convince
private companies to take on voluntary Internet regulatory initiatives. Concerns over
child safety online have focused attention on the potential risks associated with time
spent on social network sites such as Facebook and MySpace, where children may
come into contact with sexual predators and be subject to cyberbullying by their peers.
Law enforcement officials in the United States have been vocal in promoting age and
identity verification systems in order to better police online sites frequented by
minors. 26 The Internet Safety Technical Task Force, a group of technology companies,
Internet businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and academics, was brought
together by agreement with 49 U.S. state attorneys general to study the use of technologies by industry and end users to promote Internet safety for minors. The task force
report of January 2009 recommended a model of collaboration among industry groups,
law enforcement, and others rather than implementation of a series of mandatory
technical controls to protect children online.
Another U.S. legislative attempt to control online speech, the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act, would criminalize ‘‘severe, repeated and hostile’’ speech online. 27 This proposed legislation, named after a girl who committed suicide thought to
be induced by online harassment, has been harshly criticized as unnecessary, given the
existing off-line remedies for harassment, and for its potential impact on protected online speech, as it could be applied to many incidents of online speech far beyond the
cyberbullying targeted by the legislation. 28 Seventeen of the 50 states have passed laws
against cyberbullying. 29
United States and Canada Overview
373