Freedom of speech, cyberspace, harassment law, and the Clinton administration.
Part of a special section on the Constitution under President Bill Clinton. The writer presents four cyberspace speech conflicts that involve what he maintains is the most interesting modern body of speech restrictions: hostile environment harassment law. In most of the controversies, the result...
| Published in: | Law & Contemporary Problems Vol. 63; no. 1/2; pp. 299 - 336 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Duke University
Winter/Spring2000
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| Summary: | Part of a special section on the Constitution under President Bill Clinton. The writer presents four cyberspace speech conflicts that involve what he maintains is the most interesting modern body of speech restrictions: hostile environment harassment law. In most of the controversies, the result should mainly be driven not by the medium but by the relatively medium-independent underpinning free speech principles. The Clinton administration's role has been more as a consumer of the existing law rather than as a creator of new law. Each of the controversial events shows that there is much truth in the maligned maxim of a slippery slope—speech restrictions accrete over time, with each victory laying the groundwork for future, broader restrictions. The four conflicts are described under the following headlines: the hidden communication decency act; the hidden campus speech code; hostile public accommodations environment law; and harassment by library Internet access. |
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