Sex offenders have right to tweet, appeals court says

An Indiana law banning sex offenders from Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled today.

The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out a state law that made it a misdemeanor -- and, in some cases, a felony -- for registered sex offenders to use a "social networking Web site."

"The Indiana law targets substantially more activity than the evil it seeks to redress," the three-judge panel unanimously concluded in an opinion (PDF) written by Joel Flaum.

The U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, which restricts the government from curbing freedom of expression, means the Indiana law cannot stand, the court concluded: "Laws that implicate the First Amendment require narrow tailoring. Subsequent Indiana statutes may well meet this requirement, but the blanket ban on social media in this case regrettably does not."

Indiana's law was simultaneously over- and under-inclusive. It targeted Web sites that permit minors to sign up and also allow users to "create a Web page or a personal profile" and provide an "opportunity to communicate with another person" -- a definition that could sweep in popular sites including Amazon.com, YouTube, and CNET, all of which allow users to create profiles.... [Read more]





by Declan McCullagh via CNET