The US government banned news platforms long before TikTok. It didn’t go well.

The efforts of the Ministry of Justice to deny access to Americans to TikTok – an issue that will be argued before the Supreme Court tomorrow – is probably the most controversial First Amendment case of the social media era.

But this is nothing new. The United States has issued widespread bans on posts and news sources in the past, for reasons similar or identical to those currently motivating the TikTok action.

National security is at the forefront. The federal government claims that the Chinese government has unrestricted access to U.S. users’ data (which the app’s owner, ByteDance, denies). The second is ideology. Supporters of the ban say TikTok is a pro-communist influence machine that, to quote Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), is “capable of controlling what our young people see, say and think.”

For free speech advocates, these arguments date back to the dawn of the Internet, the Cold War and before, when federal lawmakers blocked public access to information and ideas on the grounds that they were protecting their own citizens.

“The effect of these restrictions was to limit Americans’ access to information and ideas and to cause others to doubt our country’s dedication to its ideals – rightly so,” George Wang told ADWEEK , attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. “We have put an end to these misguided practices, which are now viewed with embarrassment and shame. »

Below is a look at five of these restrictions in reverse chronological order and why they were, for the most part, failures.

The Communications Decency Act

What he did: Passed in 1996 to coincide with the explosion in popularity of the Internet, the CDA was intended to protect Americans under the age of 18 by prohibiting any “comments, requests, suggestions, proposals, images, or other communications that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms that are patently offensive by contemporary community standards.

How it went: The Supreme Court struck down the law a year later, finding it too broad in that it restricted First and Fifth Amendment rights. The CDA was replaced by the Children Online Protection Act in 1998, but this law was also repealed several years later, for the same reasons.

The McCarran-Walter Act

What he did: Passed in 1952 as part of the Red Scare, the law barred people with views “prejudicial to the public interest” from entering the United States. Although the law did not restrict public access to information, it overshadowed public dialogue by denying entry to writers with socialist sympathies. , including Doris Lessing, Graham Greene and Gabriel García Márquez. President Truman called the law a “step backwards.”

How it went: The law ended with the Immigration Act of 1965, which no longer considered ideological viewpoints before allowing immigration.

The Censorship Office

What he did: During World War II, the federal government severely restricted all war-related information in newspapers and on the radio. Journalists were instructed to avoid topics that could harm their country’s morale and to skew their reporting to focus on victory and heroism.

How it went: Censored media coverage led to a degree of apathy on the home front, which the government realized was harming the war effort. Two years after the start of the war, the government finally allowed reporting on the brutality of the war, that is, accurate reporting.

The Hays Code

What he did: Fearing that the government would decide to ban certain films deemed immoral or obscene, Hollywood created this self-censorship organization in 1930. It edited scripts and forced the elimination of all scenes that dealt not only with sex and violence, but also childbirth, excessive drinking, name-calling, interracial relationships, or anything considered anti-Christian, including making fun of priests and pastors.

How it went: The advent of television and the popularity of foreign films led to competition for films, which relaxed censorship so that they could continue to attract audiences. In 1968, the Hays Code disappeared, replaced by the somewhat gentler sliding rating system.

The Trading with the Enemy Act

What he did: Passed when the United States entered World War I in 1917, the law gave the president broad powers to restrict trade with aggressor countries. These powers included banning books, magazines, newspapers and films created in specified countries. Intended as a temporary measure only, the law survived through the Cold War, when it was used to restrict the entry of materials from socialist countries.

How it went: In 1977, Congress reduced the power of the president only in times of war.

The Comstock Act

What he did: Adopted in 1873, it prohibited the Post Office from transporting any “obscene, lewd or lascivious and dirty books.”[s] …. or any other mail containing anything dirty, vile or indecent. The law not only bans nude photos, it also prohibits information about sex education and birth control. In 1921, Comstock was used to keep James Joyce’s novel Ulysses from bookstores.

How it went: Women’s rights advocates and other groups filed enough lawsuits (including Griswold v. Connecticut, which established the right to contraception) to render the law ineffective. However, virtually unenforceable in the digital age, the law is still in effect and some fear it could be used to ban the mailing of abortion medications.