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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- "What else should we expect from an ACLU-hand-picked judge than a sweeping, radical decision allowing adults to knowingly send and display pornography to minors on the Internet?" Director of Legal Studies Cathy Cleaver said Wednesday. "Nevertheless, this is not an ultimate defeat for American families and children. No matter where this case goes next - either to the full Eastern District Court or the Supreme Court - the Department of Justice will have a better opportunity to defend the constitutionality of this statute."
Cleaver made her remarks as the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania released their decision Wednesday on the ACLU v. Reno case involving the regulation of pornography distribution to minors on the Internet. Family Research Council presented a "friend of the court" brief defending the cyberporn provisions of the Communications Decency Act. The decision, written by Dolores K. Sloviter, Chief Judge of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals and Carter appointee, contradicts previous Supreme Court decisions on the distribution of indecent material through the media.
"It is an arrogant decision which flies in the face of the Supreme Court and our society," Cleaver said." We have long embraced the principle that those who peddle harmful material have the obligation to keep the material from children. Outside cyberspace, laws restrain people from displaying sexually explicit images in public places and from selling porn magazines to children. So, on the Internet, the burden of protecting children from exploitation should not rest solely on the parents."
In her decision, Judge Sloviter maintains that it is "either technologically impossible or economically prohibitive" for pornographers to comply with the regulations. However, Cleaver said that "this decision reflects the Court's unwillingness to consider proposed regulations by dismissing them as 'burdensome.' There are constitutional ways to protect children from cyberporn but not restrict the freedom of speech of the pornographers or the adults."
Cleaver continued, "Cyberspace is a work in progress. We should not squander the opportunity to examine and appreciate a world where pornography knows no bounds. Failure to enact strong laws is a concession that the information superhighway should belong to pornographers. It would be like leaving a loaded gun in a playground."
Posted on June 18, 1996