Their civil suit, organized by the American Library Association, America Online and the Center for Democracy and Technology, is expected to be filed today in the US. District Court in Philadelphia. There, it will be consolidated with an earlier suit against the law filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and a dozen other civil rights groups.
The law, part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, makes it a felony to knowingly transmit indecent or patently offensive sexual material over communications networks where children may see it. It was passed overwhelmingly by Congress and signed by President Clinton.
US District Judge Ronald L. Buckwater...has already ruled that the provision in the new law barring indecent material was unconstitutionally vague.
He declined to strike down other parts of the law, which imposed more restrictive standards of speech on the Internet and other computer-based communications networks than those for books, newspapers or other printed material.
The Justice Department...has agreed not to investigate or prosecute anyone for suspected violation of the law until...some time after Government lawyers present their case on April 11 and 12.
The new plaintiffs include: America Online, Compuserve, Microsoft Network, Netcom and Microsoft Corporation as well as the American Library Association, the American Society of Newspaper Publishers, Society of Professional Journalists, and Citizens' Internet Empowerment Coalition...
"It is unconstitutional to force adults to limit the information they can see to a level suitable for children," said Judith F. Krug, director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom.