Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union

Internet content providers and free-speech advocates (plaintiffs) sought a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), which was designed to protect minors from sexually explicit online material; the district court granted the injunction, finding the plaintiffs likely to succeed in showing COPA was not the least restrictive means of achieving that goal, given that content filters offered a less restrictive alternative. The government's appeals and the Supreme Court's own intervening review produced multiple rounds of litigation, with the court of appeals ultimately affirming the injunction on the ground that COPA was not narrowly tailored, was overbroad, and was not the least restrictive means available, leading to this second grant of certiorari.