Appeals court strikes down Net porn law

ToshiroOC · Mar 7, 2003, 01:40 PM

A federal law aimed at curbing Internet pornography violates Americans' free speech rights and is unconstitutional, an appeals court ruled Thursday.

For the second time, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia struck down a law that would imprison commercial Web site operators who do not cordon off sexually explicit material from minors. The Child Online Protection Act (COPA) "is not narrowly tailored to proscribe commercial pornographers and their ilk, as the government contends, but instead prohibits a wide range of protected expression," the court said.

"The analysis is the one we were making from the very beginning, which is that the law makes it a crime to communicate speech that is clearly protected (by the First Amendment) to adults," said Ann Beeson, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union who litigated the case. "The only way someone can avoid prosecution is to set up burdensome screening systems. The impact is so great it violates the First Amendment."

This decision is unusual because it's the second time the 3rd Circuit has rejected COPA as violating the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of expression. In May 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed the case, but said the 3rd Circuit's earlier decision was insufficient to establish that COPA was unconstitutional.

In its opinion, released Thursday, the 3rd Circuit adopted a far more exhaustive approach, ruling that COPA was not narrowly tailored to target only pornography and that legitimate Webmasters would be unfairly targeted. COPA makes it a crime to publish "any communication for commercial purposes that includes sexual material that is harmful to minors, without restricting access to such material by minors." The maximum penalty is a $50,000 fine, six months in prison and additional civil fines.

--By Declan McCullagh, source: news.com (CNET)

Article can be read here.

The_Neon_Cowboy · Mar 7, 2003, 09:16 PM

well the net isn't safe childen should be sufing without close supervison... not watching them is like haveing your kids play in a busy street!!!!

and most isp's terms of use state something about ... must be 18 or older etc....

Mar 7, 2003, 01:40 PM	#1
ToshiroOC Unbiased. Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 4,812 Rep Power: 0	Appeals court strikes down Net porn law A federal law aimed at curbing Internet pornography violates Americans' free speech rights and is unconstitutional, an appeals court ruled Thursday. For the second time, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia struck down a law that would imprison commercial Web site operators who do not cordon off sexually explicit material from minors. The Child Online Protection Act (COPA) "is not narrowly tailored to proscribe commercial pornographers and their ilk, as the government contends, but instead prohibits a wide range of protected expression," the court said. "The analysis is the one we were making from the very beginning, which is that the law makes it a crime to communicate speech that is clearly protected (by the First Amendment) to adults," said Ann Beeson, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union who litigated the case. "The only way someone can avoid prosecution is to set up burdensome screening systems. The impact is so great it violates the First Amendment." This decision is unusual because it's the second time the 3rd Circuit has rejected COPA as violating the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of expression. In May 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed the case, but said the 3rd Circuit's earlier decision was insufficient to establish that COPA was unconstitutional. In its opinion, released Thursday, the 3rd Circuit adopted a far more exhaustive approach, ruling that COPA was not narrowly tailored to target only pornography and that legitimate Webmasters would be unfairly targeted. COPA makes it a crime to publish "any communication for commercial purposes that includes sexual material that is harmful to minors, without restricting access to such material by minors." The maximum penalty is a $50,000 fine, six months in prison and additional civil fines. --By Declan McCullagh, source: news.com (CNET) Article can be read here.

Mar 7, 2003, 09:16 PM	#2
The_Neon_Cowboy HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 16,009 Rep Power: 90 System Specs	well the net isn't safe childen should be sufing without close supervison... not watching them is like haveing your kids play in a busy street!!!! and most isp's terms of use state something about ... must be 18 or older etc.... __________________