Free Speech,Crime, and the Challenge of Advancing Technology

Speech technology has developed rapidly and has taken many different forms. One form of this technology, the internet, poses a difficult challenge for society because of the way that it provides children with easy access to various forms of 'indecent' material. US courts have struggled with the problem of how to reconcile the internet, and other more advanced technologies, with traditional First Amendment free speech doctrine. For many years, US courts distinguished between so-called 'traditional forms' of technology, and other forms of technology, in particular broadcast technology. While the courts have always provided strong protections for traditional forms of technology, they have provided less protection to broadcast technology. Importantly, the internet challenges the dichotomy between 'traditional' technology and broadcast technology, and has forced the US Supreme Court to reconsider its precedents relating to technology. This reconsideration has made it more difficult to regulate the internet for the 'health, welfare and morals' of society. This paper analyses the scope of government authority in light of recent precedent.