Arizona Passes Sweeping Law Criminalizing Internet Speech

In one of the most sweeping attacks on free speech in America,  the Arizona legislature has passed a draconian bill that would criminalize speech on the Internet (“any electronic or digital device”) that prosecutors consider “obscene,  lewd or profane language or . . . suggest[ing] a lewd or lascivious act if done with intent to ‘annoy, ’ ‘offend, ’ ‘harass’ or ‘terrify.’” The law is largely undefined and is in my view facially unconstitutional. The law would drive a stake in the heart of free speech. Yet,  people like Bill Clinton have been calling for such a crackdown on Internet speech for years.