American Civil Liberties Union v. Miller - Significance

The ruling posed a wide impact on the way legislators could craft laws regulating the Internet. The decision upheld the right of constitutionally-protected free speech over the Internet and, in doing so, this judgment carried important implications. Pointing out that similar restrictions were not applied to print publications, the court underscored both the inappropriateness of such censorship and the parallel nature of print and Internet media.

The Internet began in the late sixties as a military experiment linking various computer networks. By the 1990s commercial use by private business had mushroomed reaching millions of people globally. The expansive use brought extensive concerns over protection of its users from crime, obscenity, and defamation. During 1996, in the wake of the U.S. Congress' passage of the Communications Decency Act, states considered legislation to regulate online speech. Georgia state legislators approached Internet regulation differently by crafting an act preventing online users from using false names or pseudonyms. That statute, voted into law by the state legislature on 1 July 1996, called for criminal sanctions of up to 12 months in jail and/or up to $1,000 fine for violations.