Free Speech Coalition Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Free Speech Coalition - Case Study Example The government’s side argued that the law needed to prohibit virtual imaging of child pornography to protect minors from paedophiles. One of the rules under the First Amendment provides that a whole artistic work cannot be merited on the basis of one sexually explicit view. Accordingly, the work should be judged as a whole to determine its value. Essentially, pornography can only be prescribed if it is obscene and if it uses real children. In this case, therefore, the ban by the CPPA was invalid, since it barred the use of images that were neither obscene nor used actual children. In Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition 535 U.S. 2d, 403 (2002), the court held that the rights of adults access such speech could not be withdrawn in order to protect minors from such speech. The use of the phrases â€Å"appears to be† and â€Å"conveys the impression† is relative and depends on the interpretation of the court. The work of art must contain obscene content in speech presentation, for it to be banned. Considering Ferber’s standard, a ban on child pornography can only be upheld if production and sale of artistic work were â€Å"intrinsically related† to child abuse, by causing harm to the victim and leading to crime. Therefore, if a work of art causes harm to a child by making them prone to sexual acts, such a work will be banned, See id. at 13. The Supreme Court also overruled the argument advanced by the government stating that the ban on â€Å"virtual child pornography† was necessary to reduce cases of paedophiles seducing children. The standard for this ruling came from the First Amendment, Miller, and Ferber standards.