Specifically, the First Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression without government interference. See U.S. Const. amend. I. Within that, the concept of freedom of expression consists of the rights to freedom of speech, press, assembly and to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and the implied rights of association and belief. The Supreme Court and the lower courts interpret the extent of the protection afforded to these rights. The Supreme Court has interpreted the First Amendment to the Constitution as applying to the entire federal government even though it is only expressly applicable to Congress. Also, the Supreme Court has interpreted the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as protecting the rights in the First Amendment from interference by any of the state governments. See U.S.

In the opinion of the case, the Supreme Court said that "the interest in encouraging freedom of expression in a democratic society outweighs any theoretical but unproven benefit of censorship."

As for the case itself, it is critical to view the three judges in the lower court's individual opinions were.

In the Georgia case, ACLU v. Miller, Judge Marvin Shoob determined that a law prohibiting anonymous speech on the Internet was an unconstitutional restriction on free speech that "affords prosecutors and police officers with substantial room for selective prosecution of persons who express minority viewpoints."

Dalzell opines that print media, in comparison, accomplish absolutely none of these goals. Rather than glorifying print, Dalzell feels that an unfortunate side effect of the CDA would be to reduce cyberspace to the level of print media:

"In this respect, the Internet would ultimately come to mirror broadcasting and print, with messages tailored to a mainstream society from speakers who could be sure that their message was likely decent in every community in the country." (pp. 196-197)

"First, the Internet presents very low barriers to entry. Second, these barriers to entry are identical for both speakers and listeners. Third, as a result of these low barriers, astoundingly diverse content is available on the Internet. Fourth, the Internet provides significant access to all who wish to speak in the medium, and even creates a relative parity among speakers." (191-192)

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1958
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)