Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition

Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition (2002) was a United States Supreme Court case that addressed the constitutionality of a federal law banning “virtual” child pornography. The Court ruled that the law was too broad and violated the First Amendment's free speech protections. It emphasized that materials which don’t depict actual children do not pose the same harm as real child pornography. This decision reinforced the idea that the government cannot restrict free expression based merely on potential harm if no real children are involved, emphasizing the importance of protecting free speech even for controversial or unpleasant content.