The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit today upheld a ban on the enforcement of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), ruling once again that it was unconstitutional, overbroad, and vague. The American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged COPA on behalf of a coalition of writers, artists and health educators, hailed the ruling as a victory for free speech.”For years the government has been trying to thwart freedom of speech on the Internet, and for years the courts have been finding the attempts unconstitutional,” said Chris Hansen, senior staff attorney with the ACLU First Amendment Working Group. “The government has no more right to censor the Internet than it does books and magazines.”
arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080722-government-strikes-out-on-copa-ruled-unconstitutional-again.htmlUS Appeals Court Strikes Down Federal Internet Porn Law [Dow Jones]
In the latest setback to congressional efforts to police pornography on the Internet, a federal appeals court has invalidated the federal Child Online Protection Act, a law designed to keep children from viewing sexually explicit material on the Web.
www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20080722\ACQDJON200807221438DOWJONESDJONLINE000565.htm