By Kassity Liu Third Circuit Dismisses “Sexting” Charges Against Minor On March 18, the WSJ Law Blog reported that the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit dismissed charges against a teenage girl for distributing sexually explicit images of herself. The court had originally stated that they would address whether the First Amendment protects minors from sending these types of images of themselves through their cells phones, but the court refused to consider this issue in the case. Instead, the ... Read More...

Third Circuit Panels Rule Differently on MySpace Parody Cases By Abby Lauer – Edited by Alissa Del Riego Layshock v. Hermitage School District, No. 07-4465 (3d Cir. Feb. 4, 2010) Slip Opinion Snyder v. Blue Mountain School District, No. 08-4138 (3d Cir. Feb. 4, 2010) Slip Opinion Two different Third Circuit panels handed down seemingly contradictory decisions last week after considering whether offensive parody profiles of school principals created by students using MySpace outside of school were protected by the ... Read More...

Third Circuit Upholds Online Gambling Ban By Caitlyn Ross – Edited by Amanda Rice Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association Inc. v. Attorney General of the United States, No. 08-1981 (3d Cir. Sept. 1, 2009) Opinion (Hosted by wired.com) On September 1, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey decision, which upheld the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. Wired.com provides an overview of ... Read More...

Third Circuit Holds Child Online Protection Act Unconstitutional By Anna Lamut – Edited by Nicola Carah ACLU v. Mukasey Third Circuit, July 22, 2008, No. 07-2539 Slip Opinion On July 22, the Third Circuit affirmed the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s decision, finding that the Child Online Protection Act (“COPA”), 47 U.S.C. § 231, violated the First and Fifth Amendment, and permanently enjoined its enforcement. COPA imposes civil and criminal penalties for anyone who, “for commercial purposes,” knowingly posts “material ... Read More...

Third Circuit Vacates FCC Fine By Jon Choate — Edited by Stephanie Weiner CBS Corp. v. Federal Communications Commission Third Circuit, July 21 2008, No. 06-3575 Slip Opinion On July 21, the Third Circuit vacated an FCC order fining CBS $550,000 for the nine-sixteenths of one second broadcasting of Janet Jackson’s bare right breast during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII in February 2004. The court held that the FCC had departed from its prior policy in fining CBS ... Read More...