United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group
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| United States v. Playboy Entertainment | ||||||||||
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| Argued November 30, 1999 Decided May 22, 2000 |
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| Holding | ||||||||||
| Struck down a portion of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) which required that cable television operators who offered channels "primarily dedicated to sexually-oriented programming" must scramble completely or fully block such material. | ||||||||||
| Court membership | ||||||||||
| Chief Justice: William Rehnquist Associate Justices: John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer |
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| Case opinions | ||||||||||
| Majority by: Kennedy Joined by: Stevens, Souter, Thomas, Ginsberg Concurrence by: Stevens Concurrence by: Thomas Dissent by: Breyer Joined by: Scalia, Rehnquist, O'Connor |
United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, 529 U.S. 803 (2000), is a case in which the United States Supreme Court struck down a portion of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) which required that cable television operators who offered channels "primarily dedicated to sexually-oriented programming" must scramble completely or fully block such material.
In the 5-4 opinion delivered by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the court held that the content-based restriction on speech -- specifically section 505 of the CDA -- violated the First Amendment because the government could have furthered its interests in less restrictive ways. Kennedy's opinion stated, "[i]f a statute regulates speech based on its content, it must be narrowly tailored to promote a compelling Government interest. If a less restrictive alternative would serve the Government's purpose, the legislature must use that alternative." Justices Stevens, Souter, Thomas, and Ginsburg joined with Kennedy in the majority. Stevens and Thomas filed concurring opinions.
Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote a dissent in the case, arguing that the majority of the court had not made a "realistic assessment of the alternatives." Breyer was joined in his dissent by Justices Rehnquist, O'Connor, and Scalia.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Text of decision from Findlaw.com
- First Amendment Library entry on United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group
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