COPA Commission
COPA, Congress's second attempt at censoring the Internet, brought its first call for a study of the issue of offensive content on the Internet. Sec. 1405 of COPA called for the establishment of the COPA Commission <www.copacommission.org> (an unfunded mandate) for the purpose of conducting a study "regarding methods to help reduce access by minors to material that is harmful to minors on the Internet." [COPA Section 1405] As required by law, the Commission had 15 industry members reflecting a wide diversity of perspectives. It took a lot of work and wrangling (even over such simple issues as who would foot the bill) but the Commission achieved a comprehensive analysis that thoroughly reviewed the issue.
The findings of the COPA Commission can be summarized as follows:
- One of the best responses to concern over children's exposure to offensive content is family education and involvement (not law nor technology).
- Offensive material frequently falls outside of the reach of US legislation as significant portions are located off-shores.
- Internet filter technology "raise First Amendment concerns because of its potential to be over-inclusive in blocking content. Concerns are increased because the extent of blocking is often unclear and not disclosed, and may not be based on parental choice."
- The creation of a top level domain to address this problem was considered. The creation of a .xxx was questionable because it was less than clear who would willingly locate their content their and even if they did, the .xxx domain could become an attractive nuisance. The creation, on the other hand, of a .kids domain was given positive review, creating a possible greenspace of child-appropriate sites. This limitation, however, is the degree to which this would be a solution non-domain name using applications as chat rooms, USENET, or instant messaging.
What is the solution? According to this panel of experts
After consideration of the information gathered through hearings and comments filed by a wide range of parties, the Commission concludes that no single technology or method will effectively protect children from harmful material online. Rather, the Commission determined that a combination of public education, consumer empowerment technologies and methods, increased enforcement of existing laws, and industry action are needed to address this concern.
Having concluding that Internet filters were constitutionally suspect, Congress proceeded to pass the Children's Internet Protection Act requiring the use of Internet filters by schools and libraries.
- COPA Commission Website
- Final Report of the COPA Commission Presented to Congress (October 20, 2000) "The Commission on Child Online Protection is directed by Congress to consider methods and technologies to help reduce access by minors to material that is "harmful to minors" (as defined in the Child Online Protection Act ("COPA"). As part of this review, the Commission has scheduled three public hearings to consider these methods and technologies. On July 20-21, 2000, the COPA Commission will hold its second public hearing at the Jepson Alumni Center at the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia to consider filtering, labeling, and rating technologies. Today's notice seeks comments on such technologies." Federal Register Notice
USDOJ Commission on Online Child Protection
- The Omnibus appropriations bill of 2000 includes the following: COMMISSION ON ONLINE CHILD PROTECTION The conference agreement includes $750,000 for the Commission on Online Child Protection.
In 1998, as a part of the Protection of Children From Sexual Predators Act, Congress requested that the National Academies of Sciences produce a report "to conduct a study of computer-based technologies and other approaches to the problem of the availability of pornographic material to children on the Internet." In 2002, the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Academies of Sciences released Youth, Pornography, and the Internet (May 2002). In response to the Congressional request, the Board assembled a "committee with expertise in many fields" and reviewed the "legal, educational, technological, social, and societal context" of the issue. The conclusions and recommendations of the Board could be used by Congress to amend federal criminal statutes.
The Report concluded
There is no single or simple answer to controlling the access of minors to inappropriate material on the Web. To date, most of the efforts to protect children from inappropriate sexually explicit material on the Internet have focused on technology-based tools such as filters and legal prohibitions or regulation. But the committee believes that neither technology nor policy can provide a complete - or even a nearly complete - solution. While both technology and public policy have important roles to play, social and education strategies to develop in minors an ethic of responsible choice and the skills to effectuate these choices and to cope with exposure are foundational to protecting children from negative effect that may result from exposure to inappropriate material or experiences in the Internet.
[CSTB, Youth, Pornography, and the Internet: Executive Summary: Conclusion (2002)]. The Board's Report does not produce any simple solutions instead describing the situation as "very complex."
CIPA called on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the Department of Commerce to conduct a study "to evaluate whether currently available Internet blocking or filtering technology measures adequately address the needs of educational institutions and to evaluate the effectiveness of children's Internet safety policies." [Legis.] On June 5, 2002 , NTIA released a call for comments in compliance with this obligation. [Fed. Reg.] The NTIA Report was far less critical of filters, consistent with the administrations litigation position at that CIPA is constitutional.
With respect to whether the technology measures currently available address the needs of educational institutions, the commenters identified the following needs of educational institutions:
- balancing the importance of allowing children to use the Internet with the importance of protecting children from inappropriate material;
- accessing online educational materials with a minimum level of relevant content being blocked;
- deciding on the local level how best to protect children from Internet dangers;
- understanding how to fully utilize Internet protection technology measures;
- considering a variety of technical, educational, and economic factors when selecting technology protection measures; and
- adopting an Internet safety strategy that includes technology, human monitoring, and education.
Based on a review of the comments, currently available technology measures have the capacity to meet most, if not all, of these needs and concerns.
Accordingly, NTIA makes the following two recommendations to Congress on how to foster the use of technology protection measures to better meet the needs of educational institutions:
- Technology vendors should offer training services to educational institutions on the specific features of their products.
- CIPA’s definition of “technology protection measure” should be expanded to include more than just blocking and filtering technology in order to encompass a vast array of current technological measures that protect children from inappropriate content.
[CIPA Report Executive Summary ]
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