Stay classy Minnesota: Department of Public Safety tramples First Ammendment rights

[Steve Ruddock]

It seems internet gambling cannot stay out of the headlines these days:

The state of Minnesota has issued Internet providers a 7-page 'blacklist' of gambling related sites that they're supposed to prevent customers from accessing, a move that raises some serious First Amendment issues.

"We are putting site operators and Minnesota online gamblers on notice and in advance," said John Willems, a Minnesota Department of Public Safety official. In letters issued to internet providers, Minnesota's Department of Public Safety claims, "gambling is illegal within Minnesota".

Joe Brennan of the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association in Washington, D.C. said on Thursday evening that his group just found out about the blacklist and is consulting with First Amendment attorneys to evaluate its options.

A similar attempt to block IP addresses was made in Pennsylvania six years ago. The state attorney general to issued orders to Internet providers: telling them to block possibly illegal Web sites.

But a federal judge in Philadelphia struck down the law citing First Amendment violations, "There is little evidence that the act has reduced the production of child pornography or the child sexual abuse associated with its creation. On the other hand, there is an abundance of evidence that implementation of the Act has resulted in massive suppression of speech protected by the First Amendment."

Even if this law somehow passes, there is a major stumbling block for enforcement: Many web sites can share one Internet Protocol (IP) address, and blocking the IP address makes the entire list of sites inaccessible.

[MJPerry]

For those of us non-American/too lazy to Google, what is the First Amendment?

[Steve Ruddock]

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that expressly prohibits the United States Congress from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion" or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, infringe the freedom of speech, infringe the freedom of the press, limit the right to peaceably assemble, or limit the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Although the First Amendment only explicitly applies to the Congress, the Supreme Court has interpreted it as applying to the executive and judicial branches. Additionally, in the 20th century, the Supreme Court held that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment applies the limitations of the First Amendment to each state, including any local government within a state.