Sable Communications of California v. Federal Communications Commission (1988)
- Docket
- 88-515
- Decided
- 1988-01-01
Summary
Question: Did the amended Communications Act violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments? Conclusion: The Court upheld the District Court's ruling. Since the First Amendment does not protect obscene speech, as the Court found in Paris Adult Theater I v. Slaton (1973), the ban on obscene speech was legitimate. However, sexual expression that is simply indecent is protected. Thus, banning adult access to indecent messages "far exceeds that which is necessary" to shield minors from dial-a-porn services.