Theodore B. Olson

In 1998 Congress passed the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), which makes it unlawful for material that is “harmful to minors” to be posted on the Internet unless steps are taken to ensure that children cannot access it. In the following viewpoint U.S. solicitor general Theodore B. Olson argues that COPA is constitutional. According to Olson, COPA does not violate the First Amendment because the legislation relies on community standards to determine whether Internet material is harmful. He asserts that because these standards are likely to be fairly constant throughout the United States, the Supreme Court should uphold COPA and reverse the June 2000 ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which unanimously ruled that the act was unconstitutional. In May 2002 the Supreme Court voted to temporarily...