A federal appeals court scuttled a popular state initiative that would have required registered sex offenders to report their internet activity. The initiative would have required offenders to notify law enforcement whenever they got a new internet service account or internet identifier. (Bloomberg Businessweek, November 19, 2014, by Josh Eidelson)
The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that registered sex offenders completing parole or probation had First Amendment rights to engage in online speech anonymously. (Los Angeles Times, November 18, 2014, by Maura Dolan)
The Court found that the law would restrict speech unrelated to sexual activity, and throwing out the law would not hurt the state’s ability to investigate illegal activity on the internet. “The portions of Prop. 35 that unconstitutionally limit what people say online won’t help us end human trafficking. Anonymity is key to protecting speech by unpopular or controversial groups and allowing robust political debate,” said Linda Lye of the ACLU of Northern California. (Electronic Frontier Foundation, November 18, 2014, press release)