Reno vs. ACLU: The U.S. Supreme Court Finds the Communications Decency Act Unconstitutional

On June 26, 1997, in Reno v. ACLU, the United States Supreme Court struck down the Communications Decency Act of 1996 ("CDA"), regarded by many as the most sweeping piece of legislation designed specifically for the Internet. The CDA criminalized the knowing transmission by telecommunications device of "obscene or indecent" images or text to anyone under 18 years of age, as well as the transmission to anyone under 18 of any comment or image that "depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs.