Pornography Hate Speech And Censorship Essay

Chapter 5 Pornography, Hate Speech, and Censorship * Is a government justified in limiting the access of consenting adults to pornographic materials? * Censorship laws seek to limit access to pornographic materials but preventing their distribution, sale, or exhibition. * Censorship laws can also prohibit the production of pornography or even its possession

Commission Reports on Pornography The 1970 Commission Had an explicit anticensorship stance. * Congress est. the Commision on Obscenity and Pornography * Members had to do a thorough study of obscenity and pornography and on the basis of the study, submitting recommendations to regulate obscene and pornographic materials * Fundamental recommendation:
Non supporters such as Mill believe that the gov’t does not have the right to meddle in the private lives of citizens. Such meddling causes more harm than prevents 3) The principle of legal moralism – Individual liberty is justifiably limited to prevent immoral behavior g. Law may be invoked to prevent immoral behavior or enforce morals. h. An appeal to the harm principle already provides a widely accepted independent justification i. As a result, this principle usually invoked only when there are so-called victimless crimes j. Mill rejects use of this principle as a basis for limiting liberty. In his view, accepting this principle would be allowing the "tyranny of the majority." 4) The offense principle – Individual liberty is justifiably limited to prevent offense to others k. “Offensive behavior” is understood as behavior that causes shame, embarrassment, disgust or other psych. Discomforts l. It is not advanced to justify laws that would limit the access of consenting adults to pornographic materials m. Sometimes advanced to justify laws that protect non-consenting adults from offensive displays of porn

Is Censorship of Pornography Justified?
Harm