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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2010 > January > 27 > Entry
Sending smut to kids via Internet barred, court says
The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday, Jan. 27, ruled that a state law designed to protect children from pornography and predators on the Internet applies only to material sent via person-to-person communications, such as instant messages, e-mails and private chat rooms.
The court said in a 7-0 decision that the law does not apply to material posted on generally accessible websites and public chatrooms when the person distributing the obscene material can’t prevent a juvenile from seeing it.
The court did not address the constitutionality of the law. Instead, its ruling gives the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals direction on which types of electronic communication are subject to prosecution under the state law. The federal court asked the Ohio Supreme Court to decide whether the Ohio attorney general’s interpretation of the law was correct — and the supreme court said yes.
The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression argued that the law is too vague for the average citizen to know what is prohibited and it violates First Amendment protections.
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By fortressdayton
January 29, 2010 5:24 PM | Link to this
Thou shalt not delete comments simply because they offend thee…remember the First Amendment listed above?