Tag archive: COPA

Speaking at a NewSchools Summit on educational innovation, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted that finding ways to improve children's education is important to him—and he thinks getting children under age 13 on to Facebook could be a key step in that direction. Currently, Facebook is barred from allowing children under 13 years of age from using the site by the U.S. Children's Online Protection Act (COPA), enacted in 1998… Read More

Not with a bang, but with a whimper: the Supreme Court of the United States has quietly put an end to the controversial Child Online Protection Act (COPA) by refusing to hear a government appeal of a ruling banning its enforcement. The act was passed with overwhelming support of Congress in 1998, and sought to ban Web sites from making “harmful” content available to minors. COPA has been embroiled in controversy ever since on… Read More

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has upheld a lower court ruling (PDF) that found the federal Child Online Protection Act (COPA) was overbroad and a violation of the first and fifth amendment to the U.S. constitution. The case was brought by the ACLU on behalf of writers, health educators, and artists, and is being hailed by citizens rights' groups and anti-censorship advocates as a significant victory…but at the… Read More