6.805/STS085 Class for Feb. 15

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
6.805/6.806/STS085 Ethics and Law on the Electronic Frontier
Spring Semester, 2001
February 15

Harmful speech in cyberspace: Defamation and indecency

Topic for today

With our background in First Amendment law from last week, we'll consider two closely related areas regarding regulation of "harmful speech" on the internet. The first is indecent speech, leading to the controversy over the Communications Decency Act and the perspective on internet regulation articulated in the Supreme Court decision in Reno v. ACLU. The second is defamation and speech that is harmful to individuals, the standards that determine liability, and who is liable.

Homework due before today (due Wednesday, Feb. 14)

Please write a brief of Reno v. ACLU. As Danny explained in class last week, this should cover:

the issue before the Court
the facts of the case
the Court's holdings
the Court's reasoning
the procedural history of the case

Your answer should be short - a page total, at most. Post this to the class discussion list by sending it as email to 6805-discussion@zurich.ai.mit.edu. Send ordinary text only: no attachments. We must receive your posting by Wednesday February 14 if you want to remain enrolled in the class.

Readings to do before class

From the 6.805 archives, read The Internet Censorship Saga: 1994-1997. Don't feel that you need to follow all the links, just the ones that seem interesting. But be sure to read the Supreme Court's ruling in Reno v. ACLU. (Note that Reno v. ACLU is not the same as ACLU v. Reno.)
From the pages in the 6.805 archive on Computer Communications and Freedom of Expression, read the following landmark Supreme Court cases:
- New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
- Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323 (1974)
Read the Federal District Court opinion in Cubby v. Compuserve (Oct. 1991). You can find a summary of the decision here.
Read Zeran v. America Online, 1997 U.S. App. Lexis 31791 (4th Cir. 1997). In this decision, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of a Florida district court, that the Communications Decency Act effectively immunizes internet service providers from liability claims arising from third-party online content. Since the issue here is rather technical, it will help to see the discussion by Lisa-Marie Mullen in The Fourth Circuit has Ruled in Zeran v. America Online: Absolute Immunity for the Internet Service Provider?, in her student paper for Stetson University College of Law, Computer Law Seminar, Fall 1996.

Paper due for next week

There is a paper due before class next week. Details of the assignment are here. Note that this assignment is in addition to the reading for next week's class.

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Last modified: February 11 2001, 5:56 PM

Hal Abelson (hal@mit.edu)
Mike Fischer (mfischer@mit.edu)
Danny Weitzner (djweitzner@w3.org)
Joe Pato (pato@hpl.hp.com)
Joanne Straggas (joanne@mit.edu)