Regulating Sexual Images on the Web: Last Call for Miller Time, But New Issues Remain Untapped

Authors

Clay Calvert

Abstract

The article suggests that the test for obscene speech under the Miller case should be abandoned because the new technologies and innovations of the World Wide Web present significant difficulties in apply the test in its traditional form. The author recommends alternatives, which would alleviate the problems of applying the Miller test to the Internet. First, he advocates adopting a national community standard. Second, he suggests that a "Web-specific test for obscenity" be created. Part I of the article examines the first high profile case, which exposed the flaws in applying the Miller test to the Internet. Part II discusses how the new technologies of the adult pornography industry have impacted the viability of the Miller test. Part III examines new issues of sexual images on the Internet including the exploitation of children on the Web. In conclusion, the author contends that Congressional obsession with regulating sexual images on the Web has resulted in the demise of the Miller test's applicability.

Recommended Citation

Clay Calvert, Regulating Sexual Images on the Web: Last Call for Miller Time, But New Issues Remain Untapped, 23 UC Law SF Comm. & Ent. L.J. 507 (2001).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_comm_ent_law_journal/vol23/iss3/1