The internet safety debate continues
Posted by Richard Kuhlenschmidt Mon, 13 Nov 2006 15:59:09 GMT
From the Wall Street Journal
A federal court this month is revisiting the Child Online Protection Act, which threatens criminal penalties for commercial Web site operators that allow children to access material that is “harmful to minors.” The law, passed by Congress eight years ago, has never gone into effect because of a legal challenge from free speech advocates. The Supreme Court has ruled the law is likely unconstitutional and prevented the Justice Department from enforcing it until it is reviewed by a lower court.
The Wall Street Journal Online invited Richard Whidden of the National Law Center for Children and Families, a nonprofit group that has lobbied for COPA and similar measures, to debate the issue with John Morris, a First Amendment lawyer who helped lead the Supreme Court case that overturned COPA’s predecessor, the Communications Decency Act.
To read their conversation about this issue, click here.
