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Court Upholds Internet Advertisers Refusal to Run Objectionable Ads
A U.S. federal court in Delaware has dismissed an action involving a refusal by certain Internet advertisers to run advertisements they considered objectionable. The plaintiff in the case operates two websites, www.NCJusticeFraud.com and www.ChinaIsEvil.com. The first website allegedly exposes fraud perpetrated by various North Carolina government officials and employees. The second website describes alleged atrocities committed by the Chinese government. The defendants, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, all refused to run advertisements promoting the two websites.
The most compelling argument made by the defendants was grounded on their First Amendment rights to free speech and the federal Communications Decency Act. The court held that the First Amendment guarantees both the right to speak and not to speak and thus, the defendants could not be compelled under law to run the plaintiff’s ads. In addition, the court held that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which states that no provider of an interactive computer service shall be held liable on account of any action voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict access or availability of material that the provider considers objectionable, immunized the defendants from liability.
For a copy of the decision, visit:
http://claranet.scu.edu/tempfiles/tmp31170/langdongoogleopinion.pdf