Community Standards
Community standards refer to the local norms of sexual decency that influence the determination of what is considered legally obscene, particularly in the context of censorship in the United States. The concept emerged prominently in court rulings, notably in the 1957 Supreme Court case Roth v. United States, and was further clarified in the 1973 Miller v. California decision. These rulings established that the definition of obscenity could vary by state, reflecting the diverse cultural values across different regions. This localized approach acknowledges that what may be deemed acceptable in one community could be viewed as obscene in another, as illustrated in the 1973 case Paris Adult Theater v. Slaton.
As society evolved, particularly with the advent of the internet and social media, the need for updated community standards became evident. Digital platforms faced challenges in defining acceptable behavior and content, necessitating guidelines to manage sexually explicit, violent, or hateful material. These community standards not only help to protect users but also adapt to the complexities of online interactions, ensuring a safe environment across various platforms. This ongoing discussion highlights the dynamic nature of community standards and their impact on freedom of expression and public decency in a rapidly changing cultural landscape.
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Subject Terms
Community Standards
DEFINITION: Local norms of sexual decency
SIGNIFICANCE: In the United States, the concept of community standards has played a critical role in the determination of whether particular works are legally obscene and thus open to censorship
The idea of using community standards of decency to determine whether pornographic material is legally obscene first appeared in the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Roth v. United States (1957). The idea’s later usage, however, stemmed from the Court’s 1973 Miller v. California case. In that decision, the Court affirmed that while obscenity was not protected under the First Amendment, the criteria for what constitutes obscenity should be determined by the individual states. Behind the Court’s endorsement of using community standards to determine obscenity stood the belief that it was unrealistic to pose a national standard for obscenity in a country as large and as diverse as the United States.
Another Supreme Court decision in 1973, Paris Adult Theater v. Slaton, concerned two Georgia theaters that were prevented from showing pornographic films. This case pointed out that employing community standards to define obscenity could lead to situations in which a film could be judged as obscene in one state but not in another. A persistent problem with the concept of community standards has been in determining what they are for any particular community. In the 1990s, legal questions arose regarding the place of electronic community standards in determining the obscenity of material distributed over computer networks. As the use of social media expanded and the Internet became a workplace, entertainment source, communication device, and more, community standards were needed to outline acceptable online behavior across platform types. Sexually explicit, violent, or hate-driven content is generally prohibited by community standards, but many websites apply additional requirements to ensure user protection.
Bibliography
Bateman, Jon, et al. "How Social Media Platforms’ Community Standards Address Influence Operations." Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1 Apr. 2021, carnegieendowment.org/research/2021/04/how-social-media-platforms-community-standards-address-influence-operations. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.
"Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973)." Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/413/15. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.
Steiner, Ronald. "Community Standards." Free Speech Center, 5 July 2024, firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/community-standards. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.