Internet Porn Law to Be Decided by Supreme Court

Internet Porn Law to Be Decided by Supreme Court
Tue October 14, 2003 10:59 AM ET
By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court said on Tuesday it would decide whether a law aimed at protecting minors from Internet pornography violated constitutional free-speech rights.

The high court agreed to hear a Justice Department appeal defending the law in a case that has pitted free-speech rights against the efforts by Congress to regulate cyberspace by keeping minors away from online pornography.

The Child Online Protection Act required Web site operators to make Internet viewers use credit cards or adult access systems before they could see material deemed harmful to minors. Violators faced up to six months in prison and fines.

The 1998 law has never been enforced. It was challenged on First Amendment grounds by the American Civil Liberties Union, online magazine publishers, booksellers and others, and the courts have blocked the government from enforcing the law.

more..........

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2003/10/14/internet_porn_law_to_be_decided_by_supreme_court/

And I'm as concerned with free speech as anyone. Hardcore porn is way too easy to find on the internet.

Problem is that the easiest way to verify age is to use a credit card number. However, porn operators are the last people on earth you should trust with other people's credit cards.

The fundamental question that should be asked here is whether the internet is intended for children or adults. It can't realize its potential if it must be "safe" for both. Many things would have to be censored to make the internet "safe for kids".

The whole thing about "protecting children" is just a right wing code word for "censoring" what they don't agree with.

If you let the government decide that the internet must be safe for children, then you are going to lose many of the things that make the internet a haven for free speech.

The best solution is to have a "child safe" portion of the internet, for example, a .kids domain, and let the rest of the internet be free.

This is not about porn, this is about free speech and the future of the internet as we know it.

Censorship is not the answer.

The single most disturbing aspect of all these 'feel good/let's protect the kiddies' laws is that they unwitiingly absolve the parties who should ACTUALLY be protecting the children from doing so--- their parents, guardians, teachers, etc. . There was never as need at our home for a law like this--- my brother and sister-in-law monitored our internet time QUITE actively.

Tiresome, idnit?