Supreme Court upholds e-mail anti-smut law
In the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upholds the legality of censoring e-mails, university computing officials are grappling with how to cut the smut out of UA students' electronic messages.
"I'm not sure if it is enforceable," said Bruce Paulson, computing manager for the University of Arizona's Center for Computing and Information Technology.
Paulson said he is reviewing the law with the UA attorney's office because CCIT employees are unsure how to handle the censorship issue.
"We're still evaluating the ruling at this point," he said.
The high court voted unanimously Monday to reject a claim by a San Francisco-based media company that a part of Congress' 1996 Communications Decency Act threatened free speech rights.
The legislation is intended to affect materials available to people under 18 years of age "that in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards," according to the act.
People arrested for violation of the law can be fined or serve up to two years in prison.
Internet providers, including Gain Communications and StarNet, said they do not regulate e-mail unless they receive complaints by users of spamming or harassment.
Paulson said the UA also does not interfere with personal e-mail transmissions.
Jarett Blasberg, an undecided freshman, said the Supreme Court's decision infringed on personal freedoms.
"It seems like an infraction on my privacy," he said. "It's just going to lead to a bunch of litigation in the courts."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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