ApolloMedia Corp. v. Reno

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION AND DISMISSING COMPLAINT

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff ApolloMedia Corporation (“Apol-loMedia”) seeks to enjoin enforcement of portions of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (“CDA”) codified at 47 U.S.C. § 223 (a)(1)(A)(ii) and 47 U.S.C. § 223 (a)(2) on the grounds that the subject provisions, to the extent that they prohibit “indecent” communications made “with an intent to annoy,” are impermissibly overbroad and vague, and thus violate the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. ApolloMedia does not challenge the provisions to the extent they regulate “obscene” communications. Defendant Janet Reno, Attorney General of the United States, takes the position that the challenged provisions seek to regulate only “obscene” communications. The threshold issue presented to this Court is whether § 223(a)(1)(A)(ii) and § 223(a)(2) proscribe communications that are “indecent” as opposed to only those that are “obscene.” Because we find the provisions regulate only “obscene” communications, the Court does not decide the issue of whether Congress may, under the circumstances addressed in the subject provisions, regulate…

Dissenting.

I agree with the majority that the sections of the Communications Decency Act (“CDA”) challenged in this ease may constitutionally prevent the transmission of obscene communications over the Internet. I disagree, however, with the majority’s conclusion that the actual words of the statute — “obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, or indecent” — should be read to mean only “obscene.” This is a criminal statute which applies to speech on the Internet, an international communication medium expected to have over 200 million users next year. Such a statute should mean exactly what it says, so that users will know what the rules are.

I believe that our approach here should be the same as the approach taken by the Supreme Court in Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 , 117 S.Ct. 2329 , 138 L.Ed.2d 874 (1997). There, the Court *1097 construed the section of the CDA immediately following the section challenged in this case, and found that proscriptions of “obscene or indecent” communications meant just that — proscriptions of communications which were either obscene or indecent. The Supreme Court held that while proscriptions of obscene communications were…

Before HAWKINS, Circuit Judge, and CHESNEY and ILLSTON, District Judges.

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION AND DISMISSING COMPLAINT

MICHAEL DALY HAWKINS, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff ApolloMedia Corporation ("ApolloMedia") seeks to enjoin enforcement of portions of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 ("CDA") codified at 47 U.S.C. § 223 (a)(1)(A)(ii) and 47 U.S.C. § 223 (a)(2) on the grounds that the subject provisions, to the extent that they prohibit "indecent" communications made "with an intent to annoy," are impermissibly overbroad and vague, and thus violate the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. ApolloMedia does not challenge the provisions to the extent they regulate "obscene" communications. Defendant Janet Reno, Attorney General of the United States, takes the position that the challenged provisions seek to regulate only "obscene" communications. The threshold issue presented to this Court is whether § 223(a)(1)(A)(ii) and § 223(a)(2) proscribe communications that are "indecent" as opposed to only those that are "obscene." Because we find the provisions regulate only "obscene" communications, the Court does not decide the issue…