School Library Journal Mobile
Log In  |  Register          Free Newsletter Subscription
Subscribe to SLJ Magazine

COPA Struck Down, Yet Again

Supreme Court upholds lower court ruling on online protection law

By Walter Minkel -- School Library Journal, 8/1/2004

Don't expect to see the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) going into effect anytime soon. The U.S. Supreme Court voted June 29 to uphold a lower court decision to block enforcement of the law, which would have penalized commercial Web sites that failed to obtain proof of age before providing materials considered harmful to minors.

Although COPA was passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1998, it has never taken effect due to injunctions and court challenges.

Writing for the 5–4 majority, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said that the law's threat of criminal penalties was likely to stifle free speech and that installing filtering software was less restrictive.

"This is a win for the Internet and for the Constitution, but it is not a loss for families," said Judith Krug, director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom. "Parents who choose to filter their children's access are exercising parental responsibility. When the government mandates filters, however, it's censorship."

Talkback

We would love your feedback!

Post a comment

» VIEW ALL TALKBACK THREADS

Related Content

Related Content

 

By This Author

Sponsored Links




 
Advertisement

More Content

  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Photos

Blogs

  • Jonathan Hunt
    Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog

    September 16, 2009
    When You Reach Me: A Time Travel Tutorial
    While the characters, setting, style, and theme are all distinguished elements of WHEN YOU REACH ME,...
    More
  • Jonathan Hunt
    Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog

    September 11, 2009
    The Ghosts of Newberys Past
    As Nina mentioned, it's very easy to anticipate the new work of Newbery alumni--especially when...
    More
  • » VIEW ALL BLOGS RSS

Photos

Advertisements





SLJ NEWSLETTERS
Click on a title below to learn more.

Extra Helping
Curriculum Connections
SLJTeen
LJ Criticas Review Alert
©2009 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.
Use of this Web site is subject to its Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
Please visit these other Reed Business sites