ACLU challenge to federal child protection law goes to trial News
ACLU challenge to federal child protection law goes to trial

[JURIST] The federal bench trial of a lawsuit [ACLU materials; press release] challenging the 1998 Child Online Protection Act (COPA) [text] began Monday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania [official website]. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] brought the suit on behalf of internet websites such as Salon.com and Nerve.com, arguing that the severe punishments outlined in COPA for publishing material considered "harmful to children" restrict free speech. COPA, which has not been enforced since its inception, mandates that commercial websites require adult users to enter some variation of an access code not available to children in order to view the websites containing pornography. The ACLU is advocating for alternative methods to prevent children from viewing the websites, such as parent-controlled filters, while the US Justice Department [official website] wants to prevent children's access to the websites altogether. The ACLU further argues that the law does nothing to prevent children from viewing content posted in other countries. The trial is expected to last four weeks.

During preparations for legal challenges to COPA, the Justice Department subpoenaed search data from popular internet search engines in an effort to extrapolate the widespread availability of pornography websites viewable by children. Google [corporate backgrounder] refused to comply with the subpoena, citing trade secret concerns rather than privacy issues. In March Judge James Ware of the US District Court for the Northern District of California [official website] granted the Justice Department limited access [JURIST report] to the Google records. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Laws of Burgos put into effect

The Spanish Crown put the Laws of Burgos into effect on December 27, 1512. These laws governed the relationship of Spanish settlers with the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. The laws established the encomienda system of labor, promoted conversion to Catholicism, and safeguarded the indigenous peoples from physical abuse.  However, historians argue that the laws were ineffective at protecting the rights of the indigenous population. Learn more from the Library of Congress.

Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public bar smashing

On December 27, 1900, militant Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. Nation argued that destroying bars was an acceptable means of battling the liquor trade since the Kansas Constitution prohibited alcohol. Learn more about Carrie Nation.

World Bank created

On December 27, 1944, the World Bank was created during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Learn more about the history of the World Bank.