• Recommend:
• 0 Comments

"CDA II" Challenge Gains Support

Additional groups join fight against Child Online Protection Act.

By Nancy Weil, IDG News   

The U.S. Congress last year passed COPA, which makes it illegal for commercial Web sites to knowingly transmit to children material that is deemed "harmful to minors."

But COPA's enactment has been stalled since November, when a federal district court judge granted a temporary restraining order to keep it from being enforced. The judge is expected to rule on the case by February 1.

The judge's action came as a result of an injunction filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other plaintiffs to keep the law from being enforced. The ACLU contends that COPA is unconstitutional because it violates free speech rights.

COPA has been referred to as "CDA II" for its similarities to the Communications Decency Act, portions of which were struck down two years ago by the U.S. Supreme Court, which found that parts of the Act are unconstitutional. The ACLU also was the lead plaintiff in that court challenge.

The ACLU contends that it is impossible to police the Internet to ensure that inappropriate material fitting the definitions of COPA is not transmitted to children. Moreover, the law would restrict the ability of sites that make money through advertising to post certain types of content, such as the Starr Report.

What Is Harmful?

COPA relies on a prevailing community standard to judge what is harmful to youngsters, but that standard varies by geography and is not consistent in the U.S., the plaintiffs contend. Moreover, such a standard cannot be determined or enforced in an international forum such as the Internet, they argue.

The amicus brief was signed by a range of groups involved in publishing and technology, including the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Newspaper Editors, The Internet Alliance, The Newspaper Association of America, People for the American Way, and The Society of Professional Journalists. Such briefs are signed and filed in court cases as a way to show support.

The U.S. Department of Justice will be in charge of enforcing COPA if it goes into effect.