50 ways to go to jail

As federal Internet law wends its way through the bureaucratic appeals process, a growing number of states are passing their own statutes governing online content, introducing the possibility of separate decency regulations based on geographic boundaries at all community levels.

This week's enactment of a new Internet law in New York, which makes it a felony to transmit indecent material to minors, is only the latest in a recent string of measures passed by state legislatures as they await a final decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on the federal Communications Decency Act, signed into law this year.

The state actions raise complicated jurisdictional questions on all levels of the legal system. The Justice Department has agreed not to prosecute any violations of the CDA until the Supreme Court renders its decision. However, that agreement does not apply to state or municipal laws that impose similar restrictions on local boundaries.

"Let's say 50 states pass indecency laws. Theoretically, if you put something indecent out on the Web you could get sued in 50 ways. Is it going to happen that way? Very likely not," said Lance Rose, an attorney with Lance Rose and Associates and author of Netlaw. "Is something short of that going to happen that is still ridiculous? Probably."

In addition to New York, at least three other states--Connecticut, Maryland, and Oklahoma--have passed laws restricting the transmission of online material in the last 1-1/2 years. Unless those laws are challenged and stayed by temporary restraining orders, law enforcement authorities are free to prosecute anyone who violates those statutes, possibly even if the accused resides in another state.

Bills that became law in 1995 and 1996
Connecticut: House Bill 6883, enacted June 1995: Creates criminal liability for sending an online message "with intent to harass, annoy or alarm another person."
Maryland: Senate Bill 21, enacted April 1995: Expands law that prohibits distribution of obscene material to minors to include online transmission.
New York: Senate Bill 210E, enacted July 1996: Criminalizes the transmission of "indecent" material to minors.
Oklahoma: House Bill 1048, enacted April 1995: Prohibits online transmission of material deemed "harmful to minors."