COPA is struck down - Larry Lessig
Another Philadelphia court has struck another effort by Congress to regulate “harmful to minors” speech. (ACLU v. Gonzales). No surprise. Though it has taken almost a decade, it is the right answer given the flaws in the statute.
The core of the court’s rationale was the effectiveness of filters. We should remember the ACLU’s own warnings about a world filled with private filters. They were right then; the warnings are more valid now.
As it happens, I have just completed the third of my legislative recommendations to Congress. As it happens, it is about regulating “harmful to minors” material. My friends won’t like it. My not-friends don’t like me. But here it is anyway. You can download it here. Or you can watch it on Google Video below: