The Death of the Public Forum in Cyberspace

The internet has been conceptualized as a forum for free expression with near limitless potential for people to express themselves. However, the US government has allowed the internet to be privatized. Now nearly all of cyberspace is owned and regulated by private companies, in contrast to real space and to broadcast space, which enjoy a mixture of private and public space - the balance that renders the First Amendment meaningful is all but absent in cyberspace. The Supreme Court recently declined to give public forum status even to publicly owned computers in libraries, further weakening internet freedom of speech. An argument is made for the vigorous application of the First Amendment to the internet and for the public forum doctrine, including an analysis of the Supreme Court decision in United States v. American Library Association and other cases, and concluding with suggestions for judicial and legislative action.