In a decision that could determine the future of regulating the Internet, the Supreme Court on Friday decided to hear the case questioning free speech in cyberspace.
The high court will hear Reno v. ACLU, an appeal by the government on a three-judge federal panel's ruling in June that declared the Communications Decency Act unconstitutional. Oral arguments on the case could begin as early as March.
"We remain convinced that the lower court decision was correct, and we are confident that it will be upheld by the Supreme Court," the ACLU said in a press release.
"This case will determine the future of free expression in the information age, and is the most important First Amendment case before the court in recent memory," said Jerry Berman, executive director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, one of the parties named in the suit.
The Communications Decency Act, passed by Congress in February as part of the Telecommunications Act, imposed content regulations and decency standards on the Internet.
The justices did not decide, as was expected, whether to combine the ACLU case with a similar case - Reno v. Shea - as requested by online news editor Joe Shea in November. Discussion of the Shea case is not on next week's court agenda.
