Judge Throws Out Online Porn Law

Mar 22, 04:43 PM

Current Headlines: A U.S. judge in Philadelphia ruled Thursday that the U.S. Children's Online Protection Act is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Lowell Reed Jr. found that the law, passed in 1998 to curb children's access to online pornography, is too broad, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. He said that the First Amendment requires the least restrictive means to fulfill the goal.

Reed, in his opinion, wrote that he may not turn a blind eye to the law in order to attempt to satisfy my urge to protect this nation's youth by upholding a flawed statute.

The law required online pornography sites to require users to provide access codes, credit card numbers or personal identification.

Only one law, the 2000 Children's Internet Protection Act, has passed muster with the courts. It requires schools and public libraries to install pornography filters on their computers.