FEPP Archives - Issues -
"Harm to Minors" and Censorship of Youth - 2003

Media Researchers Cancel
(November 21, 2003) - Why did two media violence researchers back out of their scheduled appearance at the FTC?

New Government Report is a Sales Pitch for Internet Filters
(August 20, 2003) - The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's flawed August 2003 report naively accepts the claims of filter manufacturers.

More Than Seven Dirty Words
(August 4, 2003) - The FCC's threat to revoke broadcast licenses because of vulgar radio content focuses on a truly gross call-in show describing such bizarre sexual practices as "the Rusty Trombone," but the broader issue is the unconstitutionality of the agency's vague "indecency" standard.

Ignoring the Irrationality of Internet Filters, the Supreme Court Upholds CIPA
(June 24, 2003) - The Supreme Court's decision allowing Congress to mandate Internet filters in public libraries as a condition of federal aid ignores or understates the massive censorious effects of filters. In many ways, they are more insidious than flat bans on "indecent" speech.

Commentary: Book Banning in the 21st Century:
What's at Stake in the CIPA Case
(March 20, 2002; updated May 31, 2002, June 23, 2003) - The "Children's Internet Protection Act" - or CIPA - mandates that all public schools and libraries using federal funds for Internet use or connections must install a filtering system. Given the well-documented fact that all Internet filters mistakenly block thousands of sites that don't even have sexual content, CIPA poses a major threat to intellectual freedom, and indeed, to the very function of libraries.

Appeals Court Strikes Down St. Louis Video Games Law
(June 3, 2003) - The June 3, 2003 decision agrees with FEPP's brief on behalf of 33 media scholars that experimenters have not proven violent content to have widespread adverse effects.

The Disastrous State of Sex Education
(April 4, 2003) - In Talk About Sex, Janice Irvine concludes that America must rid itself of the "the culture of stigma" before it can have a sane policy of sexuality education.

Media Literacy: An Alternative to Censorship
(2002; second edition, 2003) - FEPP's survey of media literacy education and why it is preferable to TV ratings, Internet filters, "indecency" laws, and other efforts to censor the ideas and information available to the young. View the report in html or pdf.

A Disappointing Day at the Supreme Court
(March 5, 2003) - At oral argument on the "Children's Internet Protection Act," most of the justices seemed unconcerned about the censorious and irrational operation of Internet filters.

The Cyber-Liberties of Public School Students
(March 1, 2003) - An article by an ACLU lawyer surveys the First Amendment rights of students who are punished for off-campus posting or hosting of Web sites that offend adminstrators.

The Strange Case of Sarah Jones
(January 24, 2003; updated February 20, 2003) - Where does the federal government get the power to ban a feminist rap poem?

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