The Child Online Protection Act (COPA) was passed by Congress in the U.S. in 1998, during the administration of Bill Clinton. Its purpose was to restrict the access of minors to harmful material on the Internet.
The controversial law, which was never enforced, was determined to be a violation of free speech by the U.S. Supreme Court on January 21, 2009. The court declined to comment, but handed down an order stating refused to hear the appeal of "Mukasey v. A.C.L.U.The New York Times: Justices Reject Pornography Law (January 21, 2009)
3rd Circuit Court of Appeals
On July 22, 2008, The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down COPA because it was deemed to place too many severe restrictions on a wide range of socially valuable speech and violated the First Amendment.ABC News: Child Online Protection Act Overturned (July 23, 2008)
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References
Fast Facts
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The Online Child Protection Act was signed by President Clinton in 1998The New York Times: Justices Reject Pornography Law (January 21, 2009)
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COPA was devised, in part, to replace the Communications Decency Act 1996The New York Times: Justices Reject Pornography Law (January 21, 2009)
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The Supreme Court deemed the Communications Decency Act unconstitutionalThe New York Times: Justices Reject Pornography Law (January 21, 2009)
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Federal Judge Lowell Reed in Philadelphia issued an injunction against the statute in 1999The New York Times: Justices Reject Pornography Law (January 21, 2009)
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3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Act violated free speech in July 2008The New York Times: Justices Reject Pornography Law (January 21, 2009)
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Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal on January 21, 2009The New York Times: Justices Reject Pornography Law (January 21, 2009)
