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Web CensorShip Law Gets New Hearing

  • Cnet.com, Monday, November 20, 2006 12 PM
In 1998, the U.S. Congress enacted a sweeping Web censorship law that nearly everyone forgot about when the ACLU filed a lawsuit to block the Justice Department and a federal judge granted an indunction barring prosecutors from enforcing the law.

That may soon change. Today, U.S. District Judge Lowell A. Reed, Jr. in Philadelphia will hear closing arguments in the Child Online Protection Act case, and a ruling is expected by early 2007. Earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court asked Reed to evaluate whether the effectiveness of blocking software had changed in the last few years--a crucial question because the ACLU argues filterware is a less restrictive means than a Net-censorship law.

If Reed sides with the Bush administration, mainstream Web publishers will have plenty to worry about. COPA makes it a federal crime to knowingly post Web pages that have sexually explicit material that's "harmful to minors." Violators could be fined up to $50,000 and imprisoned for up to six months. That affect porn producers, but also news organizations that publish articles and videos that could be deemed "harmful to minors."

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