> > COPA: An 'Electronic Brown Bag' > Reuters > > 3:00 a.m. 27.Jan.99.PST > PHILADELPHIA -- The federal government could usurp parental control over > what children see on the Web if a new law designed to restrain online > pornography goes into effect, companies opposed to the law told a US > District Judge on Tuesday. > In closing arguments before District Judge Lowell Reed, an attorney for > 17 Internet companies assailed the Child Online Protection Act, or COPA, > as a measure that violates the First Amendment right to free speech > while imposing unreasonable costs on businesses that populate the > Internet. > > American Civil Liberties Union attorney Ann Beeson said the public would > be better served if families opted for commercially available filtering > software capable of stopping Web browsers on home personal computers > from visiting pornographic Web sites. > > "It should be up to parents, and not the government, to decide what > children should see," she told Reed at the end of five days of hearings. > Filtering software not only would return authority over home PCs to > parents, she said, but go further than COPA by blocking noncommercial > and foreign-based Web sites. > > Enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton last year, > COPA requires US commercial Web-site operators to keep children under 18 > away from material deemed harmful to minors by employing credit-card > registration or age-verification systems. > > The law reserves stiff criminal and civil penalties for businesses found > in violation. > > Plaintiffs led by the ACLU hoped to persuade Reed to impose a > preliminary injunction blocking COPA's enforcement until their legal > challenge to the law reaches trial. The case essentially is an argument > over what kinds of Web sites COPA can be used to restrict. > > The Justice Department said that the law, which replaces the > Communications Decency Act struck down by the Supreme Court in 1997, is > designed simply to act as an "electronic brown bag" by targeting Web > sites devoted wholly to the sale of sexually explicit material. > > But critics of COPA fear the act also could be used by social > conservatives to attack Web sites that deal with gay rights, the arts, > human sexuality, abortion, and other hot-button issues. > > "The world the plaintiffs describe is pure fantasy imagined by those who > refuse to have any restrictions whatsoever," Justice Department attorney > Karen Stewart said in the government's closing argument. "COPA is > concerned with what's clearly pornographic. Those who are there to > excite, entice, and fill their coffers." > > Reed was expected to rule on a preliminary injunction by 1 February, > when a temporary restraining order he imposed against COPA in November > is set to expire. > > Copyright© 1999 Reuters Limited. > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > http://www.angelfire.com/mi/smilinks/thirdeye.html > http://www.headwatersforest.org/david.chain/index.html > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COPA: An 'Electronic Brown Bag' Reuters 3:00 a.m. 27.Jan.99.PST PHILADELPHIA -- The federal government could usurp parental control over what children see on the Web if a new law designed to restrain online pornography goes into effect, companies opposed to the law told a US District Judge on Tuesday. In closing arguments before District Judge Lowell Reed, an attorney for 17 Internet companies assailed the Child Online Protection Act, or COPA, as a measure that violates the First Amendment right to free speech while imposing unreasonable costs on businesses that populate the Internet. American Civil Liberties Union attorney Ann Beeson said the public would be better served if families opted for commercially available filtering software capable of stopping Web browsers on home personal computers from visiting pornographic Web sites. "It should be up to parents, and not the government, to decide what children should see," she told Reed at the end of five days of hearings. Filtering software not only would return authority over home PCs to parents, she said, but go further than COPA by blocking noncommercial and foreign-based Web sites. Enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton last year, COPA requires US commercial Web-site operators to keep children under 18 away from material deemed harmful to minors by employing credit-card registration or age-verification systems. The law reserves stiff criminal and civil penalties for businesses found in violation. Plaintiffs led by the ACLU hoped to persuade Reed to impose a preliminary injunction blocking COPA's enforcement until their legal challenge to the law reaches trial. The case essentially is an argument over what kinds of Web sites COPA can be used to restrict. The Justice Department said that the law, which replaces the Communications Decency Act struck down by the Supreme Court in 1997, is designed simply to act as an "electronic brown bag" by targeting Web sites devoted wholly to the sale of sexually explicit material. But critics of COPA fear the act also could be used by social conservatives to attack Web sites that deal with gay rights, the arts, human sexuality, abortion, and other hot-button issues. "The world the plaintiffs describe is pure fantasy imagined by those who refuse to have any restrictions whatsoever," Justice Department attorney Karen Stewart said in the government's closing argument. "COPA is concerned with what's clearly pornographic. Those who are there to excite, entice, and fill their coffers." Reed was expected to rule on a preliminary injunction by 1 February, when a temporary restraining order he imposed against COPA in November is set to expire. Copyright© 1999 Reuters Limited. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.angelfire.com/mi/smilinks/thirdeye.html http://www.headwatersforest.org/david.chain/index.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
