Author: JT Smith
Slashdot has a report on the DeCSS hearing in New York Tuesday. 2600’s lawyer argued “that since the DMCA restricts speech, under the First
Amendment the government must narrowly tailor the law to only restrict those specific areas of
speech that it is targeting. Furthermore, the government bears the burden of proving that the
speech it is restricting is a problem in some way — usually it does this by holding hearings,
getting testimony, etc., in the process of passing a law. She noted that none of this was done for
the DMCA, and that the DMCA restricts many areas of speech that cannot constitutionally be
restricted.”
Amendment the government must narrowly tailor the law to only restrict those specific areas of
speech that it is targeting. Furthermore, the government bears the burden of proving that the
speech it is restricting is a problem in some way — usually it does this by holding hearings,
getting testimony, etc., in the process of passing a law. She noted that none of this was done for
the DMCA, and that the DMCA restricts many areas of speech that cannot constitutionally be
restricted.”
