Federal Judge Brian Jackson of New Orleans overturned a Louisiana law that banned sex offenders who have been convicted of possessing child pornography from accessing social media websites.
Jackson ruled the ban was overly vague.
Lawyers appointed to defend state sex offenders said their clients were afraid to use the Internet due to the restrictions in the ban.
But Gov. Bobby Jindal said he will appeal the ruling.
Political science professor Tao Dumas said First Amendment rights on the Internet are new territory that the Supreme Court will have to ultimately decide in the future.
“The question is does your ability to use the Internet constitute speech, and is it protected under the First Amendment?” she said.
The American Civil Liberties Union supported the sex offenders in this case to protect free speech. According to Jackson, the ban limits constitutionally-protected speech.
Dumas said Jindal argued the state has a compelling interest to protect children, which allows the free speech for sex offenders to be compromised.
“Jindal’s appeal has a decent chance because of the major constitutional question,” she said.
Sarah Guillory, English sophomore, said she thinks Jindal’s appeal on the ruling is fair.
“If you’re a sex offender, you should have the right to use to Internet, but it should be restricted,” she said. “Limiting it is definitely fair.”
 
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Contact Kate Mabry at [email protected]