Its a well known fact that technology is becoming more embodied in our lives. The Pew Internet and American Life Project released a study stating the number of adults that own cellphones, laptops or tablets is rising. This increase in ownership of technology has revolutionized access to information through the internet.
One notable case is O’Grady v. Superior Court of Santa Clara County (2006). Apple filed a case against an unnamed individual who allegedly leaked information on several online sites regarding new Apple products. Apple attempted to subpoena the email service provider to determine the identities of the sites informants. However, this was a violation of the Stored Communications Act. The results of this case was, “a free speech victory for every citizen reporter who uses the Internet to distribute news, today's decision is a profound electronic privacy victory for everyone who uses email,” said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. The court upheld that under federal law, civil litigants can not subpoena stored information from service providers. …show more content…
In Reno v. ACLU, the 1996 Communication Decency Act was challenged for its constitutionality. The Act criminalized the conscious transmission of “obscene or indecent” information, in order to protect minors from unsuitable internet content. While the purpose of this act had good merit, the Court held a unanimous decision that the Act infringed the First Amendment. The Act had a content-based restriction and failed to define “indecent communications.” The Court also added that the First Amendment provides a distinguishment between “indecent” and “obscene” communications, but only protects obscene
One notable case is O’Grady v. Superior Court of Santa Clara County (2006). Apple filed a case against an unnamed individual who allegedly leaked information on several online sites regarding new Apple products. Apple attempted to subpoena the email service provider to determine the identities of the sites informants. However, this was a violation of the Stored Communications Act. The results of this case was, “a free speech victory for every citizen reporter who uses the Internet to distribute news, today's decision is a profound electronic privacy victory for everyone who uses email,” said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. The court upheld that under federal law, civil litigants can not subpoena stored information from service providers. …show more content…
In Reno v. ACLU, the 1996 Communication Decency Act was challenged for its constitutionality. The Act criminalized the conscious transmission of “obscene or indecent” information, in order to protect minors from unsuitable internet content. While the purpose of this act had good merit, the Court held a unanimous decision that the Act infringed the First Amendment. The Act had a content-based restriction and failed to define “indecent communications.” The Court also added that the First Amendment provides a distinguishment between “indecent” and “obscene” communications, but only protects obscene