A Pitfall on the Information Superhighway.

The Internet brought quick, easy access to information into homes and offices worldwide in the 1990s. Bright entrepreneurs developed various e-commerce sites, and the web became a viable place of business for many, including those who offer sexually explicit images. Unlike seedy adult bookstores, many pornographic sites in cyberspace are easily accessible to anyone at a computer keyboard, including children. That recognition set off a raging debate about the legality of pornography on the web. At the core of this debate was the question raised by the new technology—was the web more like print media and therefore protected by the First Amendment from much regulation at all, or was it more like broadcast media, which are much more open to federal regulation?

Porn on the Web.

New technologies made pornography on the web accessible and profitable. "Adult...