Children’s Online Protection Act
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Child Online Protection Act, or COPA, is unconstitutional. The Act violates the First Amendment and is too broad, the court said. Free speech groups that worked to fight COPA, including the ACLU and EPIC, applauded the decision.
“For years, the government has been trying to thwart freedom of speech on the Internet, and for years the courts have been finding the attempts unconstitutional,” said Chris Hansen, senior staff attorney with the ACLU First Amendment Working Group. “The government has no more right to censor the Internet than it does books and magazines.”
This law is the one that required all schools to provide safeguards to prevent pornographic and other adult material from being viewed by minors. While this decision may have some impact on libraries, it probably won’t have much impact on school districts who have for years installed filters on their computers. I think the thing to remember here is that as parents and concerned citizens, you should ask your school district or library what their position is on this an take the appropriate action you see fit.
Tags: aclu, cipa, copa, Web Security