COPA Ruled Unconstitutional

The Child Online Protection Act, which required age verification to access “indecent” websites, was ruled unconstitutional by a US District Judge.  And based on prior comments and rulings by the Supreme Court, it is likely that the Supreme Court will let this ruling stand.

From the AP here:

A federal judge on Thursday dealt another blow to government efforts to control Internet pornography, striking down a 1998 U.S. law that makes it a crime for commercial Web site operators to let children access “harmful” material. In the ruling, the judge said parents can protect their children through software filters and other less restrictive means that do not limit the rights of others to free speech.

“Perhaps we do the minors of this country harm if First Amendment protections, which they will with age inherit fully, are chipped away in the name of their protection,” wrote Senior U.S. District Judge Lowell Reed Jr., who presided over a four-week trial last fall.

The law would have criminalized Web sites that allow children to access material deemed “harmful to minors” by “contemporary community standards.” The sites would have been expected to require a credit card number or other proof of age. Penalties included a $50,000 fine and up to six months in prison.

Its a good ruling.  There are many more threats to children online besides smut.  If only social networking sites like MySpace would charge a nominal fee by credit card, they could weed out both child predators and children who do not have permission to be on MySpace.