Posted on 03/22/2005 3:41:13 PM PST by billorites
Utah's governor signed a bill on Monday that would require Internet providers to block Web sites deemed pornographic and could also target e-mail providers and search engines.
The controversial legislation will create an official list of Web sites with publicly available material deemed "harmful to minors." Internet providers in Utah must provide their customers with a way to disable access to sites on the list or face felony charges.
Technology firms had urged Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman not to sign the bill (click for PDF), saying it was constitutionally suspect and worded so vaguely its full impact is still unclear.
The measure, SB 260, says: "Upon request by a consumer, a service provider may not transmit material from a content provider site listed on the adult content registry." A service provider is defined as any person or company who "provides an Internet access service to a consumer," which could include everything from cable companies to universities, coffeeshops, and homes with open 802.11 wireless connections.
"I am having a hard time seeing how this law will survive a constitutional challenge, given the track record of state anti-Internet porn laws--which are routinely struck down as violating the First Amendment and the dormant Commerce Clause," Eric Goldman, a professor at the Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee, Wisc., wrote in a critique of the law.
Spokesman Tammy Kikuchi said Monday that Gov. Huntsman "doesn't have a concern about the constitutional challenge."
Supporters of the Utah bill, such as advocacy group Citizens Against Pornography, had pressed for the measure as a way to give parents more control of their home Internet connections. Also targeted are content providers, defined as any company that "creates, collects, acquires or organizes electronic data" for profit. Any content provider that the Utah attorney general claims hosts material that's harmful to minors must rate it or face third-degree felony charges.
Lobbying group NetCoalition, whose members include Google, Yahoo and News.com publisher CNET Networks, had written a letter to the Utah Senate saying the legislation could affect search engines, e-mail providers and Web hosting companies. "A search engine that links to a Web site in Utah might be required...to 'properly rate' the Web site," the letter warned.
A federal judge struck down a similar law in Pennsylvania last year.
Huh?
Hey ....that is not funny.
What the heck is going on with FR.....I have never seen such mean spirited posts in my 5 yrs on FR....as I have seen in the last 5 days.
Okay, I'm getting punchy, I thought it said "Pet Porn" bill.
Typical politician.
Only cares about looking good at the moment.
So9
I don't get it. If the government creates a registry of bad sites, why can't the consumer get the list from the government and block those sites directly? Why involve the ISP at all?
You could pretty much kill the internet with this. Pretty much anything could be "deemed harmful" (including political blogs) if it was ruled that way.
I fervently hope it is overturned by the courts.
You obviously don't understand govt's need for CONTROLand absence of logic/common sense.
I don't have a problem with this. Apparently you do. Why?
They already have those on the Internet; though they usually do nothing more than spawn a blizzard of pop-up ads!
I just hope that they don't call the official list something like www.jonshotpornolinks.com.
Why do you support government telling residents in Utah with an ISP in Utah what they can and can not see on the internet?
Government control and regulation of the internet and its content is OK with you?
And you call yourself a conservative?
Is democraticunderground on that list?
Sean Hannity should be. After all, his show is "political pornography."
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