An American judge has struck down a law passed in 1998 by the US Government that made it a crime for commercial website operators to let children access "harmful" material.
The judge said parents can protect their children through software filters and other less restrictive means that do not limit the rights of others to free speech.
"Perhaps we do the minors of this country harm if First Amendment protections, which they will with age inherit fully, are chipped away in the name of their protection," wrote Senior US District Judge Lowell Reed Jr., who presided over a four-week trial last fall.
While I do not like porn on the internet from a moral standpoint, I do like the way this judge is thinking. He understands that the internet, by its very nature is not safe, and can never be made safe, for children. He makes it clear that it is neither society's nor government's responsibility to protect children from content on the Web. It is the parent's responsibility.
Children require supervision. Also, it is just not porn on the web that is harmful to children. There are plenty of other things on the web and no law can filter out what is appropriate when. Only a parent can do that.
Parents, don't be afraid to ask for help to protect your family from the destructive side of the Internet.
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