Child internet protection law appealed to Supreme Court

COPA, passed in 1998, was intended to protect children from viewing internet pornography. It created a crime of knowingly placing on-line for commercial purposes any material that is "available to" and deemed harmful to minors. Violation carries a fine of up to $50,000 and six months in prison, although there is a defence if the web site operator restricted access to minors by requiring a credit card or other means of age verification.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) brought the case against COPA's validity in 1999. The ACLU argued that COPA's ban on material that is legal for viewing by adults is inconsistent with the country's right of free speech.

In June 2000, The 3rd US Circuit Court of Philadelphia agreed, and upheld an injunction to stop the law coming into force. That ruling was appealed by the DOJ to the US Supreme Court which, in May 2002, upheld part of the law and referred it back to the lower court for reconsideration.

In March this year the Philadelphia court again considered the matter, and again decided that COPA was unconstitutional. It ruled that COPA was not so narrowly tailored that it would target only pornography sites, but would also affect legitimate sites and their webmasters. The ruling stated, according to InternetNews,com, that:

"When contemporary community standards are applied to the internet, which does not permit speakers or exhibitors to limit their speech or exhibits geographically, the statute effectively limits the range of permissible material under the statute to that which is deemed acceptable only by the most puritanical communities,"

The ruling added that this would burden "speech otherwise protected under the First Amendment for adults as well as for minors living in more tolerant settings."

US Attorney General John Ashcroft has decided to try again. A response is due from the ACLU by 10th September.