Obscenity
Displaying obscene content on web pages is illegal in the United States. Obscene speech or expression is not protected under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects free speech.
Obscenity is not as clearly defined as child pornography. Federal and state courts use a 1973 case to consider whether material is obscene, applying three criteria:
- Whether an average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the work as a whole appeals to prurient interest
- Whether the work depicts sexual content in a patently offensive way
- Whether the work as a whole lacks serious artistic, literary, political or scientific merit
Cornell University Law School has an informative page on obscenity.
AboutUs.org does not and will not display any obscene content.
More on obscenity:
- AdultWebLaw
- Wikipedia article on obscenity
- Discussion of obscenity at Exploring Constitutional Law, a website maintained by University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School
See also:
