COPA /was: potentials in this business

[Fisty Palmer]

The recent thread on potential earnings in this business got me reviewing articles about COPA, which is the child online protection law that the Republicans would like to see enforced.

If there was ever a reason to diversify into other industries, this might be it. What would you guys do if this law was set into motion?

Here's an excerpt from a recent article on the subject:

~~~

The case of Ashcroft v. the ACLU before the United States Supreme Court is the successful result of an appeal by Ashcroft to the decision of a lower court. The US Supreme Court will (for the second time) decide on the constitutionality of COPA.

COPA is the Child Online Protection Act. COPA was signed into law in 1998. Since it became a law COPA has never been enforced. Instead, COPA has been bouncing around the higher court system for the past five years, mostly due to the diligence of the ACLU.

What is this law? Why does the ACLU fight it? Why does the Justice Department fight for its survival? Why is it so important that the Supreme Court is hearing the case of Ashcroft v. the ACLU? The Child Online Protection Act is an amendment to section 223 of the 1934 Communications Act. The gist of COPA goes like this: “…to require persons who are engaged in the business of selling or transferring, by means of the World Wide Web, material that is harmful to minors to restrict access to such material by minors”.

Sounds pretty simple in a legalese sort of way. Basically, COPA wants to apply age-restricted access to pornographic content on the Internet. That sounds reasonable. Who wants kids hitting a gangbang page? In the US adult businesses are usually housed in remote locations or far separated from residential neighborhoods. One has to provide proof of age when entering such businesses. When it comes to adult entertainment in the physical world, the kids are shut out.

Unfortunately, on the web, it’s pretty impossible to keep the kids out of the smut section. A paysite membership fee stops most tots from seeing the inside of a member’s area. The concern for the sponsors of COPA is the amount of free cybersmut available to anyone who finds it. The Child Online Protection Act would make it illegal to expose children to materials that would be considered harmful according to the community standards criteria. COPA suggests that violators be sentenced to pay a $50,000 fine, serve six months in jail or both.

Let’s put this in terms all adult webmasters can understand. COPA became law in 1998. The ACLU got the 3rd U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia to declare an injunction against COPA on the grounds of unconstitutionality. The Justice Department appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court sent it back to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals upheld the injunction against COPA. Now Ashcroft has won himself another hearing in front of the US Supreme Court in the hopes of overturning the injunction against COPA.

If the injunction is lifted and COPA becomes enforceable that means no more free sites, no more TGPs, no more MPGs, no more top lists, no more galleries, no more boobies, no more twat shots, no more insertion pics without an ID. If COPA gets its teeth, fuck your Warning page. Fuck your JavaScript prompt. Fuck free fucking pics.

That sounds swell to a lot in our industry. There’s a large faction of site owners who don’t need or want freeloaders, especially kids. There are those who believe it is possible to sell without using graphic/offensive pictures or text. The problem is the adult Internet has been using free, explicit content as a primary sales tool. The whole affiliate/sponsor model depends on gallery builders and TGP operators, as well as the designers, content providers and hosts subsequently involved. Will TGPs and MGPs survive if all they’re allowed to post are links to G-rated galleries?

[RawAlex]

Wrong. COPA goes into place and it means no more US BASED free sites, TGPs, MPGs, etc. The US government thinks that it is the dog and the internet is it's tail... I got news for them, porn will just walk around them and keep on going... the free sites in one country, the sites they promote in the US.

As it is, COPA fails the very basic "restrictions on free speech of an adult". It has been found unconstituional on a number of occassions that blocking free speech for any reason, including protexting children, does not come close to over-running the 1st amendment. Not all adults have credit cards or other means of instant payment, and there is no longer any assurance that the credit card processors will want to be the legal judge's of age.

It will fail, Assclown will use this as proof that the legal system has gone to hell, Bush will use it as a campaign issue ( if we had our judges in the surpreme court, your children would be safer! ) and they will attempt to ram through another crappy and ill conceived piece of legislation in the next term if they get re-elected, which we all hope doesn't happen.

In the end, this visit to the supreme court is a "look, we tried" sort of thing to appease the conservative section of the voting population, and because it is likely to fail, is not going to piss off the more liberal voters either. It's a win by losing.

Alex

[Fisty Palmer]

Nice comments, Alex, and I hope you're right. Now if we can just keep from being Bush-whacked in the next election. I will just hate my life if that man gets into office another term.

Regarding COPA, I suspect if it passes the US-based search engines would be forced to drop all porn related listings. This wouldn't block all foreign traffic, but it could effectively put a dent into the adult webmaster's bottomline.

I think many people were fooled by this administration. Sure, I still think there's a flicker in the porchlights of many of them, but they do one thing quite well -- they play hardball.

Waiting to see what institution they will unleash their wrecking balls on next is a tad unnerving.

Fisty
|rasta|

[docholly]

Originally posted by Fisty Palmer
Nice comments, Alex, and I hope you're right. Now if we can just keep from being Bush-whacked in the next election. I will just hate my life if that man gets into office another term.

Regarding COPA, I suspect if it passes the US-based search engines would be forced to drop all porn related listings. This wouldn't block all foreign traffic, but it could effectively put a dent into the adult webmaster's bottomline.


|rasta|

it's unfortunate that freedom of speech has eroded behind 9-11, that our govt has used 9-11 to instill fear in us and those who object to the blanket policy that enables the govt under the homeland security act to virtually and physically crawl up our ass, are labeled "un patriotic". There was a shit ton of stuff added to the Amber alert law as well that restricts websites etc.

It is to the credit of the ACLU that COPA has stayed unenforcable this long. It was passed in the Clinton Administration, and we remember that Monica was over 18 when she was in the White House *maybe they met online??*.

The problem is that Bush has no agenda or plan to solve our problems, either domestically or this madness he's put us in overseas. Not the economy, joblessness *which will resolve itself as boomers age*, rampent fraud on Wall Street.

so his PLAN is to make us AFRAID...to put FEAR that our children might surf and see a TITTY or an ASS.. not that anyone with a Clicker and TV couldn't. Last night on the Comedy Network, they showed uncensored, South Park and Mother Fucker was every other word..That the Internet is responsible for the Moral decline of our youth.. that we need to fear the big bad pornographers because they are targeting your children. and thump his bible or intimate that someone who is non-christian is also non-patriotic. Make us afraid and we will follow.

Well if my child saw a tit or an ass *and we are nudists so he sees them all the time* it would give me a chance as a parent to OPEN dialogue on safe sex, tolerence and body acceptance.

But that aside, Where are the parents when these children are surfing?? Are they in the same room with them? are they paying attention to what/who they are talking to on the net? or are they too busy to pay attention?

Fisty.. i totally agree with you, and i did make a goal, despite my navy officer husband's dismay, that i am going to work in voter registration, i'm going to make sure that for the primary here and on election day, i take those days off to help in the polls, or help take people who don't have transportation to vote, that i'll be the one standing on the corner that you pass, holding the signs outside the polling place, reminding people if we want change, we have that option.

I don't think the Shrub will be able to pull off what he did in 2000 in Florida. but i do believe he will try something even more radical to up his numbers, as we get closer to the election.

Halliburton, Exxon, United Technologies are depending on it!!

|pissed|

[thrillho]

Nicely said! Two (probably not very exact, but something like) quotes that come to mind:

"Those who would give up essential freedoms in the name of security deserve neither freedom nor security."--Ben Franklin

"If Jesus Christ could see what was being done today in his name, he would never stop throwing up." Woody Allen (Hannah and Her Sisters)