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U.S. Supreme Court To Rule On Online Porn Law

Posted by timothy on from the pursuit-of-happiness dept.

froggle2003 writes "Sites like goodfig.org and NEWS.com.au are among the first to report that the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to rule on the constitutionality of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA). The COPA was passed in 1998 in an effort to crack down on sites that don't block porn from children. It calls for 6 months in jail and $50,000 in fines for first-time violaters. Opponents of the COPA led by the ACLU are quick to note that the COPA makes criminals of many individuals using the internet for legitimate purposes such as providing information on anatomy, gynecology, safe-sex advice, etc."

4 of 386 comments (clear)

  1. Random Info by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    People involved with the bill can be found with this press release.

    COPA has its own site and a commision that put it together. Interestingly, they link to a bunch of research papers (many pdfs) Hearings and meetings too. Just skimming, it appears they made something of at least an attempt at a balanced inqury.

    And what karma whoring post would be complete without a link to the statute?

  2. Re:What about... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Well, here in the UK you have to be 18 to buy such items over the counter at the likes of Ann Summers. More 'hardcore' sex shops have a 21 age limit.

    Remeber, all the while, the age of consent in the UK is 16...

  3. Its Censorship by t_allardyce · · Score: 2, Informative

    Instead of passing stupid free speech infringing censorship laws and suddenly deciding that chat-rooms are bad, why not just keep kids off the internet. Its never going to be enforcable to censor web-sites outside america and barely enforcable inside, it only takes one site for some one to see it and if you've seen one hardcore-goatsex scene, you've really seen them all, the laws are really pointless and do more harm than good. If your worried about kids, just keep them offline or supervise them its pretty simple.

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  4. Re:What about... by panurge · · Score: 2, Informative

    In fact, if I remember rightly, a respectable department store in, I think, London England actually had a vibrator in a street-facing display cabinet. If you didn't know what it was there was precisely nothing to get excited about.

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