Quote:
Originally posted by Peaches@Mar 2 2004, 06:37 PM
What are your professional views on how broad the scope is and if it will pass? From what I remember, in the other attempts COPA encompassed such an obscure notion of what was harmful that had it passed, it was going to be very touchy for anyone in the adult industry and therefore was widely panned by the legal profession. On the surface, it looks like this might still be the case?
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Peaches:
The Supreme Court has to decide if the COPA definition of "harmful to minors" is unconstitutionally broad" and infringes on "lawful and valuable speech for adults". The question of what is "harmful to minors" under the current version of COPA will be based on "contemporary community standards.
I doubt COPA will pass the First Amendment requirement that restrictions on free speech be narrowly tailored to meet a compelling government interest. "Harmful to minors" under "contemporary community standards" is a recipe for disaster, as NO ONE knows what that means, including webmasters and prosecutors.
I imagine at some point Congress will come up with a law that is more clear.