Staff editorial: Celebrate freedom

This Independence Day, you can light a sparkler for the five Supreme Court justices who upheld the core of our American rights: freedom of expression.

In a 5-4 decision yesterday, the court blocked enforcement of the 1998 law called the Child Online Protection Act (COPA). The law never took effect, and if we consult the First Amendment, it never should.

COPA is about protecting America's children by making objectionable material on the Internet less accessible. But it would do so by making criminals out of citizens who post material that is "harmful to minors" where children can access it on the Internet.

Adult-only entertainment, such as pornography, is a protected form of communication under the First Amendment for those over 18. COPA violates the rights of adults who wish to communicate in this way, by putting limitations on how it can be accessed.

COPA would design a system in which Internet material "harmful to minors" would need to be accessed by a code or the viewer's age would need to be verified via a credit card.

Should the government be allowed to regulate a public forum such as the Internet? If it can regulate a specific group from accessing certain material, what is to stop it from regulating political, religious or social sites?

By protecting the rights of children, COPA violates the rights of adults.

By trying to help children, COPA does national damage.

The well-meaning COPA could even wind up hurting children, by regulating sites featuring artistic forms that incorporate nudity, as well as sites with valuable information on sexual education.

The government cannot decide or define what is "harmful to minors," as that definition can vary depending on a person's values. Only parents should be able to administer this definition.

Thank you to the Supreme Court for preserving the basics of democracy by saying no to COPA.