Poster
06-30-2004, 02:33 PM
The US Supreme Court blocked a law which was designed to prevent children from obtaining *****graphic material on the internet. The Justices voted 5-4 saying that the law which regulated the internet violated free speech rights. The Child Online Protection Act (COPA), which bans commercial Web site operators from posting sexually explicit material that can be seen by those under age 17, was deemed likely to be unconstitutional, with the Justices commenting that parents, not lawmakers, should be regulating their children's activity on the internet.
"COPA presumes that parents lack the ability, not the will, to monitor what their children see," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the court. "By enacting programs to promote filtering software, Congress could give parents that ability without subjecting protected speech to severe penalties."
“The current case now goes to a lower court, where the government would have to show that COPA is less restrictive on speech than Web filters or other screening methods.”
For more information see: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-06-29-sc-porn_x.htm
"COPA presumes that parents lack the ability, not the will, to monitor what their children see," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the court. "By enacting programs to promote filtering software, Congress could give parents that ability without subjecting protected speech to severe penalties."
“The current case now goes to a lower court, where the government would have to show that COPA is less restrictive on speech than Web filters or other screening methods.”
For more information see: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-06-29-sc-porn_x.htm