Michigan's forthcoming law aimed at those sending sexually explicit materials to children over the Internet was blocked by a federal judge last Thursday, according to Reuters.
U.S. District Court Judge Arthur Tarnow ruled the law would have violated the First Amendment due to the Internet's anonymity and the difficulty in checking or confirming users' ages. The preliminary injunction also says the law violated the U.S. Commerce Clause by forcing Internet publishers from, say, New York or California to limit their free speech for dear a Michigan minor would read the website.
The law would have taken effect Sunday and imposed penalties up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The American Civil Liberties Union and others sued in June to stop it, saying the law was broad enough to penalise, for example, a doctor posting general sex information online or answering sexually explicit questions in a chat room, Reuters says.
Tarnow wrote parents could and do take other measures to protect their children from indecent Internet materials, including strict usage monitoring and setting limits. He wrote those and other less restrictive means mean the government "need not restrict" free speech rights granted adults.
