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The Cornstock Act
First obscenity law. Made it illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, and/or lascivious" materials through the mail -
Roth vs. United States
Court ruling that allowed the government to ban obscenity -
Miller vs. California
The decision reiterated that obscenity was not protected by the First Amendment and established the "Miller" test for determining what constituted "obscene material". -
FCC v. Pacifica Foundation
The Court stated that the FCC had the authority to prohibit inappropriate broadcasts during hours when children were likely to be among the audience, and gave the FCC broad leeway to determine what constituted "indecency" in different contexts -
Communications Decency Act
The first notable attempt by the United States Congress to regulate pornographic material on the Internet. -
Reno v American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Supreme Court struck down the anti-indecency provisions of the Communications Decency Act (the CDA), finding they violated the freedom of speech provisions of the First Amendment.
