You know elections are upon us when politicians start talking about wanting to “close up” the Internet, or censor Twitter and Facebook. Throw in a couple terrorist attacks and you have the perfect storm for loss of cherished First Amendment…
Government censorship in the Internet age has been a consistent focal point for free speech advocates. Recent examples of censorship by the American government can be egregious, including the curtailment of First Amendment rights through mass surveillance, overregulation of disfavored…
A coalition of human rights, civil liberties, publishing, and online commerce groups are asking Congress to oppose a piece of anti-speech, anti-sex work legislation known as as the "Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation" (SAVE) Act. The bill is allegedly aimed…
What are your constitutional rights when it comes to viewing pornographic, violent or controversial material in your own home? This is a question we frequently address as First Amendment attorneys, and on which there is still some confusion in the…
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) “notice and takedown” procedure and the attendant “safe harbor” protections afforded to service providers often spark controversy and debate. Originally designed as a way to balance the interests of copyright holders and online service…
Performer ID’s? Check. 2257 form? Check. Model release? Check. Throw them all into a file or load them into a database and your legal tail is covered, right? Unfortunately, XXX law is never that simple, particularly when discussing compliance with…
We started hearing rumblings of anti-porn censorship by European governments at the beginning of the year. Back in March, the E.U. Parliament voted on a proposal that would have set out the path for laws “banning pornography in all media”…
In early 2012 when the news first went mainstream that the NSA was building its “Spy Center” in Utah, public reaction was much closer to Area 51-esque skepticism than the warranted level of alarm. However, recent events show that we…
Deceptively invoking the ‘save the children’ mantra yet again, State AG’s are reigniting the battle against online escort advertising websites, this time calling on Congress to amend one of the Internet’s few statutory guardians: Section 230 of the Communications Decency…
With the new year upon us, two things become painfully apparent in concluding 2012 sans post-apocalyptic bedlam: 1) the Mayans seem to have preferred tequila breaks over finishing their calendaring duties, and 2) there are no more excuses justifying willful…