In Big Win for Online Adult, U.S. Justices Won't Hear COPA

WASHINGTON — U.S. justices on Wednesday, without comment, let stand a federal appeals court decision that ruled unconstitutional the Child Online Protection Act, known as COPA.

COPA has never taken effect, but it would have authorized six-month jail term and fines up to $50,000 for the crime of placing material that is "harmful to minors" within the easy reach of children on the Internet.

It would have required commercial website operators who displayed online adult content to screen out children by requiring a credit card number or adult access code.

“This is a very significant ruling for the online adult industry,” attorney Jeffrey Douglas told XBIZ. “Had COPA been implemented, the industry would have been facing a severe economic burden. Many operators would have been faced to move their businesses overseas and it would have placed the industry in chaos."

The Bush administration argued in its appeal that a lower court ruling “would leave millions of children unprotected from the harmful effects of the enormous amount of pornography on the web.”

The American Civil Liberties Union challenged COPA immediately in 1998, arguing the law in its many different forms is unconstitutional. The ACLU and others claimed that COPA’s requirements would limit adults’ 1st Amendment rights.

The Supreme Court in 2004 stopped the law from taking effect, ruling that the law would restrict adult access to constitutionally protected material. The 5-4 ruling said that blocking and filtering software might be a less restrictive and more effective way to limit youth access to online adult content.

That decision sent the case back to the lower court level to consider the effectiveness of filters in more detail. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that filters “are more effective” than the law because they give parents more flexibility to block websites.

The Supreme Court also considered COPA in 2002, when a splintered court rejected a challenge that relied on a different legal theory.

COPA marked Congress’s second attempt to cordon off minors from sexually explicit pictures, videos and writings on the web. The Supreme Court struck down an earlier law, known as the Communications Decency Act, in 1997.

Joan Irvine, CEO of ASACP, told XBIZ that the two best methods to protect children from online adult content is filtering and parental responsibility.

"Last week the Internet Safety Taskforce, which consists of 49 state attorneys general as well as executives from Facebook, MySpace, Yahoo, Verizon and AOL and was founded by Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, presented findings of a year-long research on the topic," Irvine said.

"According to this report a reliance on mandatory age verification could actually leave our children less protected online. Instead, a multilayered approach encompassing education, empowerment and enforcement would be a more effective method of keeping kids safe," she said.

"The industry already is doing its parts by labeling with ASACP’s Restricted to Adults — RTA Website Label," she said. "There are more than 10 billion hits daily to pages labeled with RTA. So if parents use one of the many parental control systems, their children would not unknowingly be exposed to age-inappropriate content."

The case is Mukasey vs. ACLU, 08-565.

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Braindance Unveils '6DOF' VR Tech

Interactive virtual reality platform Braindance has debuted its new Six Degrees of Freedom (6DOF) VR technology.

Kiiroo, Pineapple Support Launch 'Empower Hour' Series on FeelHubX YouTube Channel

Kiiroo and Pineapple Support have teamed up to launch the “Empower Hour” series on the FeelHubX YouTube channel.

Kansas Law Firm Deploys Religion, Bunk Science While Recruiting Plaintiffs Under AV Law

Kansas-based personal injury law firm Mann Wyatt Tanksley is promoting debunked scientific theories and leveraging religious affiliation against the industry while it seeks potential plaintiffs for lawsuits against adult companies under the state’s age verification law.

UK Tech Secretary Lists Age Verification Among OSA Priorities

Peter Kyle, the U.K.’s Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, on Wednesday made public a draft version of his priorities for implementing the Online Safety Act (OSA), including age verification.

AEBN Publishes Popular Seraches by Country for September, October

AEBN has released its list of popular searches from its straight and gay theaters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Avery Jane Featured on 'Adult Time Podcast'

Avery Jane is the latest guest on the “Adult Time Podcast,” hosted by studio CCO Bree Mills.

FSC: Kansas Law Firm Threatens Adult Site Over Age Verification

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has been notified that Kansas law firm Mann Wyatt Tanksley has sent a letter threatening an adult website with a lawsuit for breaking the state's age verification law.

10th Circuit Rejects Final FSC Appeal in Utah AV Case

The United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit on Monday rejected a motion by Free Speech Coalition (FSC) requesting that the full court rehear its appeal in Free Speech Coalition v. Anderson, the industry trade association’s challenge to Utah’s age verification law.

Trump Nominates Project 2025 Contributor, Section 230 Foe to Chair FCC

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated, as his pick to head the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr — an author of Project 2025 who has called for gutting Section 230 protections.

Streamate's Elevate Partners With Miss Mei on Decriminalization Initiative

Streamate’s Elevate initiative is debuting a November collaboration with creator and community advocate Miss Mei that will highlight the modern criminalization of sex work.

Show More