COPA laid to rest

Remember COPA, the Child Online Protection Act that was passed in 1998, a year after the Supreme Court struck down similar legislation concerning objectionable online content (the Communications Decency Act, or CDA)? COPA was blocked almost immediately on constitutional grounds by a federal court in Philadelphia, then bounced back and forth a couple of times between that court and the Supreme Court. The latter today rejected the Bush administration's appeal of the latest ruling in 2004, Yahoo News reports. "Five justices who ruled against the Internet blocking law in 2004 remain on the court. The case is Mukasey v. ACLU. 08-565," according to Yahoo News. Here's my earlier coverage on COPA.

Another COPA ruling

The federal appeals court in Philadelphia again ruled that the Child Online Protection Act of 1998 is unconstitutional. The decision is "the latest twist in a decade-long legal battle [that] ... has already reached the Supreme Court and could be headed back there," the Associated Press reports. COPA, which was blocked by the Philadelphia court shortly after it was signed, followed the Communications Decency Act, which was also intended to regulate adult Web content. CDA was ruled unconstitutional in "the landmark case Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union," AP added.