Group Calls for COPA’s Overturn on Free-Speech Grounds
Claim: Act puts unconstitutional burdens on legitimate content creators, distributors.
By: Justin Bourne
Posted: 11/09/2007
WASHINGTON - The
Center for Democracy and Technology filed a "friend
of the court" brief in a federal appeals court last week, claiming that the
Child Online Protection Act violates the First Amendment.
The amicus brief, presented to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia on behalf of
CDT and 17 other groups, claims that COPA places unconstitutional burdens on
creators and distributors of legitimate Web content, including websites
focusing on sexual identity, health and art. CDT also claims that COPA is vague
and could affect legitimate speakers rather than undefined "commercial
pornographers."
"Given the past decisions from the 3rd Circuit Court of
Appeals in this case, it is widely expected that the court will agree with the
CDT's position that COPA is unconstitutional," First Amendment attorney Lawrence
Walters told AVN Online. "One of the
big problems with the statute is that it requires the application of local
community standards to Internet content when determining whether the statute's
prohibitions apply."
According to the CDT, strategies such as encouraging parents to use
technological restraints and educating children about safe online practices are
more effective and fitting ways to protect children. Such methods place fewer
restrictions on adult speech and can be customized according to individual
families' values, the group said.
"We strongly believe in the legal arguments set forth in the
CDT's amicus brief," Gary Jay Kaufman of The Kaufman Law Group told AVN Online. "It's been nine years since the
injunction against COPA's enforcement was issued, and the district court's
original reasoning remains sound: It is the parents' responsibility to
supervise and control what their children see or don't see on the Internet. ...
Adults should be able to view anything they want in the privacy of their own
homes.
"Hopefully, the 3rd Circuit [Court of Appeals] will continue
to recognize the seriousness of this concern and encourage the U.S. Supreme
Court to clarify this issue once and for all. The uncertainty in this realm has
led to a variety of inconsistent rulings across the country, as to the scope of
the community that must be considered in obscenity or harmful-materials
cases."
