Censorship in The United States - Censorship of Pornography

Censorship of Pornography

Further information: Pornography in the United States

U.S. courts have ruled that the First Amendment protects "indecent" pornography from regulation, but not "obscene" pornography. People convicted of distributing obscene pornography face long prison terms and asset forfeiture.

In 1996, the Congress passed the Communications Decency Act, with the aim of restricting Internet pornography. However, court rulings later struck down many provisions of the law.

A widely publicized case of prosecuting alleged obscenity occurred in 1990, when the Cincinnati arts center agreed to hold an art show featuring the work of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. His work included several artistic nude photographs of males and was deemed offensive by some people for this reason. This resulted in the prosecution of the center and its director, who were later acquitted.

In the early 1990s, Mike Diana became the first American artist to receive a conviction for obscenity for drawing cartoons that were judged legally obscene.

Child pornography is censored in the United States. And even if not obscene, it is not considered protected speech, according to New York v. Ferber.