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| |  Websites the Government Doesn't Want You to See |
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The Child Online Protection Act makes it a crime for any for-profit web site to display material on the Web that is "harmful to minors." The only way to avoid going to jail and paying hefty fines is to (1) stop displaying this material even to adults on the Web, or (2) to force adults to give over their credit card information before they can access it.
The definition of material that is "harmful to minors" under COPA is quite broad. It regulates material that (1) depicts genitals or the post-pubescent female breast in a "lewd" manner, or any real or simulated sexual acts; and, when taken as a whole, (2) appeals to the "prurient interest" (according to the average person applying contemporary community standards) and (3) lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value for minors (i.e., under 17 years old). COPA covers written material as well as images, and also covers video, audio, and even interactive dialogue about human sexuality.
The United States Supreme Court has made clear that the government cannot prevent adults from accessing protected speech in an effort to shield minors from it. The Internet offers one of the greatest tools yet developed for communication among adults. COPA would reduce the Web to material only fit for children, and would seriously limit the potential of this great medium.
What follows is just a small selection of material on the Web that is threatened by COPA. The government cannot use COPA now because the ACLU obtained an injunction against it. The Supreme Court will now decide whether to strike down the law for good. If COPA goes into effect, all of these websites (and countless other websites like them) may disappear forever.