A federal statute that regulates pornographic material on the internet (Pub. L. No. 104-104, 110 Stat. 133). It is Title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

The CDA imposes criminal sanctions on anyone who knowingly transmits messages or materials that are obscene or indecent over the internet under certain circumstances. In Reno v. ACLU, the US Supreme Court struck down certain portions of the Act concerning indecency holding that they violated First Amendment rights of free speech (521 U.S. 844 (1997).

Section 230 of the CDA provides protection for providers and users of an "interactive computer service" from liability for third party content that they publish. Specifically, Section 230 provides that "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider". Its protection does not extend to federal criminal liability or intellectual property law.

The full text of the Telecommunications Act, including the CDA (Title V), is available at the FCC website.