http://news.com.com/2100-1023-939407.html
House passes ban on "morphed" erotica
By Declan McCullagh
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
June 25, 2002, 10:10 PM PT
WASHINGTON--The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly
Tuesday to restrict computer-generated sex images of minors.
The 413-to-8 vote aims to circumvent a recent Supreme Court decision that
nixed an earlier ban on "morphed" erotica. A similar proposal has been
introduced in the Senate. With the enthusiastic backing of both Democrats
and Republicans, final passage of a bill this year is all but certain.
"This bill closes the door left open by the recent Supreme Court
decision," Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said at a press conference Tuesday.
"I urge the Senate to take action immediately."
Law enforcement considers restrictions on computer-generated images a key
tool in fighting child pornography, backing that has made the issue an
easy sell in Washington despite lingering constitutional concerns.
Congress has moved swiftly to pass replacement legislation after the high
court struck down the previous law on April 16 on First Amendment
grounds.
Immediately after the court's decision, politicians from both major
parties pledged to try again.
That afternoon, Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican and one-time Mormon
bishop, vowed to "craft new legislation." Attorney General John Aschroft
held a press conference two weeks later to lend the Bush administration's
support to the letter to Congress offering tips on how to craft a law
that would survive Supreme Court scrutiny.
Ashcroft said in a statement Tuesday evening that the bill "will
strengthen the ability of law enforcement to protect children from abuse
and exploitation. I urge the Senate to bring this important legislation
to the floor as soon as possible."
The new bill includes relatively minor changes to the 1996 version of the
law, known as the Child Pornography Prevention Act. That legislation had
prohibited any image that "appears to be" a minor.
By contrast, the new Child Obscenity and Pornography Prevention Act
(COPPA) refers to any computer-generated image that is "virtually
indistinguishable from that of a minor engaging in sexually explicit
conduct."
Supporters of the new legislation claim it has been carefully crafted to
pass constitutional muster. Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, said
COPPA had been written "as narrowly as possible" to avoid running afoul
of the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of expression.
But some legal scholars said they are dubious about whether the changes
will be sufficient to survive an expected legal challenge, once the bill
becomes law.
"I don't understand why they think this statute is going to eradicate any
of the problems that the Supreme Court explicitly delineated in its
recent decision," said Megan Gray, a lawyer at the Electronic Privacy
Information Center who specializes in free speech law.
The courts have repeatedly turned back attempts to limit digital
pornography, striking down laws aimed at curtailing publication of smut
on the Internet and requiring public libraries to filter Internet
content.
In their April ruling, a 6-3 majority of the justices wrote that
Congress' first try at banning "morphed" porn was akin to prohibiting
dirty thoughts.
"First Amendment freedoms are most in danger when the government seeks to
control thought or to justify its laws for that impermissible end,"
Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority. "The right to think is
the beginning of freedom, and speech must be protected from the
government because speech is the beginning of thought."
Prosecutors argue that the COPPA bill is needed, since otherwise it is
too difficult to prove that an actual child was involved in the
production of an electronic image on, say, a seized hard drive.
But foes of COPPA in the House Judiciary Committee called the measure "a
hasty attempt drafted by the Department of Justice to override the United
States Supreme Court's decision," which is "fatally flawed."
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the top Democrat on the committee, voted
against COPPA on Tuesday. The only Republican to vote against COPPA was
libertarian firebrand Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.
