The Telecommunications Act of 1996 (TCA) was a landmark legislation whose primary purpose was to reduce regulation and encourage “the rapid deployment of new telecommunications technologies,” including the then-fledgling Internet.

A major provision of the TCA is Title V, which is the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA). The CDA was intended to strike a balance between safeguarding children from receiving and/or being featured in online pornography and preventing the stifling of cyberspace innovation by shielding website operators from liability for third-party content.