Booksellers Celebrate Death of Internet Censorship Law


NEW YORK, NY, January 21, 2009 – Booksellers today joined civil libertarians throughout the country in celebrating the death of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), an Internet censorship law that Congress passed in 1998. The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the bookseller’s voice in the fight against censorship, Powell’s Books, and A Different Light Bookstores were among the plaintiffs who challenged the constitutionality of the law in a case filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would not review a decision by a federal court in Philadelphia striking down the law. “It was a long wait, but it was worth it,” ABFFE President Chris Finan said. “The death of COPA means that Americans will continue to enjoy unfettered access to the Internet.”

Congress has tried to censor the Internet twice. In 1996, it passed the Communications Decency Act (CDA), banning “patently offensive” depictions or descriptions of “sexual or excretory activities.” When the Supreme Court struck down CDA, Congress passed COPA, which prohibited the display of material that is “harmful to minors” on commercial Web sites. The ACLU challenged the law on behalf of a broad coalition, including booksellers, writers, artists and health educators who use the Internet to communicate sexual material that is not legally obscene and is therefore protected for adults.

Booksellers feared that the display of sexual content on their Web sites, whether in the form of jacket art or book excerpts, could subject them to prosecution. Powell’s Web site lists some books that contain sexually explicit material as well as books with sexually suggestive titles. A Different Light Bookstores, a gay and lesbian bookstore, expressed the concern that all of its Web content might be considered as “harmful to minors” in some communities.

The passage of COPA encouraged nine states to enact versions of the law. ABFFE joined members of the Media Coalition in challenging eight of them. ACLU challenged a ninth law, in Michigan, and participated in several of the Media Coalition cases as a plaintiff. All but two of the laws, in Ohio and Utah, were struck down. The Ohio and Utah laws have been enjoined and are unlikely to be upheld in light of the COPA decision.