Indiana can't ban sex offenders from social media, court says
By Matt Smith, CNN
updated 3:06 PM EST, Wed January 23, 2013 |
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(CNN) -- Indiana can't kick all registered sex offenders off instant messaging services, chat rooms or social networking sites like Facebook, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The state passed a law in 2008 that was aimed at keeping predators from trolling the Internet for new victims. But that law "broadly prohibits substantial protected speech rather than specifically targeting the evil of improper communications to minors," a three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded.
State courts can impose limits on social media as a condition of a sex offender's probation or parole, but a "blanket ban" on Internet use violates the First Amendment's guarantee of free expression, the judges found.
A district judge in Indianapolis had upheld the law in June, but federal courts in at least two other states -- Nebraska and Louisiana -- struck down similar state laws in 2012.
The Indiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the statute on behalf of an offender identified only as "John Doe," who had served 21 months in prison for child exploitation. "Doe" was released in 2003 and isn't on parole or probation, but was covered by the state ban.
Ken Falk, the group's legal director, said Indiana already has laws on the books barring the solicitiation of children, with enhanced penalties for inappropriate communications online. The law overturned Wednesday barred the "completely innocent" use of social media, he said.
"If you wanted to participate in a chat room to work around a candidate, you can't do that," he said. "If you want to follow the pope on Twitter, you can't do that."
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Indiana can't ban sex offenders from social media, court says