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Net Porn Law: Help for Kids, Pain for Business

Critics say the Child Online Protection Act threatens businesses on the Web.

  

Onus Is on Sites

Requiring Web sites with "harmful" content to limit access to adult visitors puts an unreasonable onus on content providers, says Chris Hansen, senior staff counsel for the ACLU. It also infringes on the First Amendment rights of both Web site owners and their adult audiences.

The bill's opponents say its vague terminology, particularly in defining what's harmful, means that it could affect thousands of Web-based businesses, from bookstores to health sites to online news media. Like West Stock, these businesses have two ways to avoid prosecution: They can scrutinize every item on their sites and remove "offensive" material, thereby practicing self-censorship and risking a loss of business. Or they can add expensive verification measures that identify a visitor's name and age. This option may be unfeasible, considering that few online businesses turn a profit.

David Crane, legislative director for Indiana Senator Dan Coats, one of the chief authors of the new law, disagrees with Hansen's interpretation and argues that COPA is designed to block minors' access to porn sites--nothing more and nothing less. As for businesses that might be affected by the new law, Crane says, "If you are engaged in commercial distribution of material that's harmful to minors, then [adding verification measures] is simply a cost of doing business."

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