Impact of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 on Federal Prosecutions of Computer Dissemination of Obscenity, Indecency, and Child Pornography

Authors

William P. Keane

Abstract

With the passage of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, Congress provided federal prosecutors with a potentially powerful new tool for combating "indecent" communications sent or made available to minors through computer networks. The author offers an early examination of the CDA on the use of computer and computer networks as instrumentalities of federal obscenity, indecency, and child pornography crimes, as well as the possible Constitutional challenges that are likely to emerge. He also outlines anticipated problems with enforcement, proof, and various defense strategies.

Recommended Citation

William P. Keane, Impact of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 on Federal Prosecutions of Computer Dissemination of Obscenity, Indecency, and Child Pornography, 18 UC Law SF Comm. & Ent. L.J. 853 (1996).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_comm_ent_law_journal/vol18/iss4/5