A Win for Free Speech Online

[Commentary] A 10-year campaign to censor the Internet ended last week when the Supreme Court refused to step in and save the Child Online Protection Act. Everyone can agree on the need to protect children from sexually explicit online material, but this misguided law tried to do it in ways that infringed on too much constitutionally protected free speech. Society has a legitimate interest in keeping sexually explicit material away from minors. But as the courts have repeatedly emphasized, it cannot be done through a sweeping censorship regime. It is not likely that Congress will rush to take up online indecency again. If it does, it needs to follow the courts' guidance and rely on methods — like filtering software — that keep indecent material away from children without infringing on the free expression rights of everyone else.