WASHINGTON, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday refused to rescue a federal law purporting to protect children from pornography on the Internet.
The 1998 Child Online Protection Act had been signed by President Bill Clinton, but had never been implemented, and a federal appeals court in Philadelphia struck down the law as unconstitutional.
The appeals court ruled last summer the act violated the free speech guarantee of the First Amendment, saying a requirement that Web sites must limit access of minors -- through the use of credit cards or some process to verify the age of the user -- was overly restrictive, The New York Times said. The appeals court said there were other less restrictive practices, such as filters installed by parents, to protect children.
The Supreme Court, among many denial orders Wednesday, rejected review of the case without comment.
The Child Online Protection Act was enacted after the Supreme Court struck down a much broader law, the Communications Decency Act of 1996, ruling it was too vague.
(Mukasey vs. ACLU, 08-565).
