PORTLAND, UT — A federal lawsuit challenging amendments made in 2005 to Utah’s Harmful to Minors Act — a hotly debated law requiring websites that may contain material unsuitable for children to label themselves or face criminal penalties — last week lost almost half of its plaintiffs and some of its foci at the hands of the presiding judge.According to The Salt Lake Tribune, U.S. District Court Judge Dee Benson on November 28th limited the scope of the lawsuit to two primary issues: whether the law can be applied to the internet and whether Utah can enforce its requirements on websites that are hosted outside of Utah but are accessed by Utah residents. Previously, the lawsuit challenged the statute on a number of First Amendment grounds in addition to the ones Benson allowed to stand.
After trimming the causes of action, Benson also cut six parties from the list of plaintiffs, saying two Utah-based internet service providers, former Attorney General candidate W. Andrew McCullough, The King’s English Bookstore, Sam Weller’s Zion Bookstore, and the Utah Progressive Network Education Fund Inc. failed to prove the statute directly affected them. Of the original 14 plaintiffs, the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, the Association of American Publishers, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, and five others were allowed to continue.
Assistant Attorney General Jerrold Jensen told The Tribune that the state’s law, enacted in the early 1970s, was intended to keep minors out of book and video stores. With the advent of the internet, however, maintaining children’s innocence became immensely more complex, requiring changes to the statute. The current lawsuit erupted almost immediately upon the 2005 passage of amendments governing the internet, he said.
The judge’s decision requires the plaintiffs to file an amended complaint, which they are expected to do soon, Jensen noted. He also said he expects the state to file its response before the end of the year.
