Rep. Bachus Slams 'Outrageous' Court Decision
Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., decried the Supreme Court's decision Wednesday not to revive an Internet child safety law that lower courts have struck down as unconstitutional. The Child Online Protection Act, which would have prohibited Web sites from making harmful content available to minors, passed Congress in 1998. Bachus, who sponsored and voted for the law, wrote a letter cosigned by Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa., urging the Justice Department to make a final attempt to save the statute.
A challenge brought by the American Civil Liberties Union has tied COPA up in hearings for more than 10 years, preventing it from ever being enforced, he said. The law required commercial pornographers to put a filter on their teaser pages - the electronic equivalent of a "brown paper bag" - to prevent accidental access by minors. Bachus said the law statute is "a commonsense way to help parents protect their kids from the corrupting influence of graphic pornography on the Internet."
Bachus, who serves as the top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, said it is "outrageous to think that pornographers have a right to force this in front of the eyes of our impressionable children and grandchildren. Families across our nation are at greater risk today because of the ACLU's determination to protect pornographers." The ACLU and Center for Democracy and Technology hailed the high court's action, saying it killed what they believe is a bad law, once and for all. Read more here.
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