Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union — Stevens, J., Dissenting

Summary

Justice Stevens, dissenting, would affirm the Court of Appeals because COPA's use of contemporary community standards to regulate material posted on the Internet substantially restricts protected speech nationwide based on the standards of the most restrictive communities. He reasoned that Internet speakers cannot geographically limit access, distinguishing media in which speakers can control their audiences, and concluded that COPA's other limiting provisions do not cure the resulting overbreadth. Justices Kennedy, O'Connor, and Breyer concurred in the judgment but would vacate and remand for further analysis or construe the statute to use a national adult standard.