-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/20813.html <A HREF="http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/20813.html">Political News from Wired News </A> ----- GOP: Save the Net Smut Law by Declan McCullagh 12:15 p.m. 19.Jul.99.PDT WASHINGTON -- Claiming online pornography is a "serious problem," five prominent members of Congress have asked a federal appeals court to uphold a law that makes it a crime to post sexually explicit images online. The 28-page amicus brief, submitted Monday, says Congress intended the Child Online Protection Act -- the successor to the Communications Decency Act -- to address "the dire situation" of tens of thousands of pornographic Web sites that both adults and children can easily visit. A federal district court in February, however, ruled that COPA violated the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech and blocked Justice Department prosecutors from enforcing it. The Justice Department appealed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. "Tens of thousands of sites sell pornography. Most openly allow children, as well as adults, to view hard-core and soft-core porn pictures by simply clicking on any link to a pornography company's Web page, even when searching for innocent material such as 'teen,' 'boy,' 'girl,' 'toy,' 'pet,' etc," says the brief, prepared by the National Law Center for Children and Families in Fairfax, Virginia. "It sounds like all of the same old arguments that all of the Supreme Court justices have rejected so far," said Ann Beeson, a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the suit last fall. The law makes it a crime punishable by six months in jail and fines that can top US$50,000 to publish "any communication for commercial purposes that includes any material that is harmful to minors, without restricting access to such material by minors" on a commercial Web site. The members of Congress, all Republicans, who signed onto the brief, are Senator John McCain of Arizona, Senator Dan Coats (retired) and Congressmen Tom Bliley of Virginia, Michael Oxley of Ohio, and James Greenwood of Pennsylvania. Bliley is the chairman of the House Commerce committee, and McCain is the chairman of the Senate Commerce committee as well as a presidential contender. The brief also argues that COPA is a narrowly crafted law that will affect just pornographers, that the appeals court should go out of its way to find a way to ensure it is constitutional, and that it is the least restrictive way to accomplish Congress' stated objective of protecting children online. Federal law already restricts the distribution of obscene materials online, which the Supreme Court has defined as publications that appeal to a reader's prurient interests, violate local community standards, and have scant redeeming value. But the Congressmen say a broader law is necessary, and cite a 1984 case involving a magazine with text-only articles, according to the brief, including "Why My Mom Loves Oral Sex!" and "My Anal Aunt!" In that Georgia case, a court found that the magazine would violate "harmful to minors" laws. Opponents of COPA testified that they feared prosecutors would go even further, attacking commercial Web sites distributing videogames in which the hero cracks jokes about penis size or a Kama Sutra screensaver featuring 40 different sexual positions. With the exception of McCain, the other legislators had signed onto a similar amicus brief to the district court judge presiding over the case. But it didn't persuade Judge Lowell A. Reed Jr., who ruled COPA was a well-intentioned attempt to protect children that went too far. So far, COPA's fate precisely mirrors that of its predecessor, the reviled Communications Decency Act, which the Supreme Court in 1997 ruled as largely unconstitutional. Anti-porn advocates on Capitol Hill steered both laws through Congress by attaching them to mammoth spending or telecommunications bills with plenty of legislative momentum. A Philadelphia judge handed down a temporary restraining order in both cases, and the ACLU won a preliminary injunction both times. "We hope that people on the court of appeals are going to be more interested in applying the law and therefore the brief should have a better audience," said Bruce Taylor, director of the National Law Center for Children and Families and the author of the brief. "I think the district court was a little overwhelmed by the testimony. Hopefully the appeals court won't accept the fears of the plaintiffs as evidence." The Justice Department will submit its next brief to the court next Monday, and the ACLU will file its own brief in late August. Oral arguments are expected before a three-judge panel this fall. Related Wired Links: COPA: An 'Electronic Brown Bag' 27.Jan.99 Battening COPA's Hatches 22.Jan.99 Purity Protectors Counterattack 22.Jan.99 CDAII: Tempest in a D-Cup 21.Jan.99 COPA Judge No Newbie 21.Jan.99 CDA II Bound for Dustbin? 20.Jan.99 Copyright © 1994-99 Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved. ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End Kris DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
