COPYCENSE

"The Supreme Court ruled to extend a ban on enforcement of a federal law designed to shield minors from Internet pornography, ruling for the third time in seven years that a congressional effort to curb online obscenity threatens free speech.

"The court held that the government still has not proved that criminal penalties imposed on certain sexually oriented Web sites by the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) protect children without unduly limiting options for adults.

"The decision means that unless the federal government can convince a federal judge that COPA’s provisions are the only plausible means to prevent children from finding inappropriate sexual material on the Internet, the statute, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1998, will be dead."

Charles Lane. Justices Oppose Internet Porn Law. WashingtonPost.com. June 30, 2004.

See also:
Mark Sullivan. Child Protection Law Suffers Another Setback. PC World. June 30, 2004.
Ted Bridist. High Court Ruling Boosts Internet Filters. WashingtonPost.com. June 29, 2004.
Declan McCullagh. Supreme Court Keeps Net Porn Law On Ice. ZDNet.com. June 29, 2004.
Associated Press. High Court: Porn Law Too Broad. Wired News. June 29, 2004.

(Editor�s Note: The Post allows free access to their stories on the Web for 14 days before sending the stories to the paper�s fee-based Archives.)