March 23, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact:

Francesca Jensen
Director of Communications
National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families
513/521-6227, ext. 111

Cincinnati – The National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families says it is unconscionable that a federal judge would defend the rights of pornographers over the protection of America’s children.

The Child Online Protection Act (COPA), a 1998 U.S. law that makes it a crime for commercial website operators to allow children access to material deemed “harmful to minors,” was recently struck down.  

“COPA is absolutely necessary to help protect children from pornographic material on the Internet,” said Rick Schatz, president and CEO of the National Coalition.  “While filtering devices are available, they are not infallible.  We need the government to step up and help parents protect their kids from objectionable content online.”

The National Coalition has been saying for years that parents are, and must remain, the first line of defense in the battle against online pornography.  “If there is one thing that parents need to take away from this case it would be that filtering, monitoring and blocking solutions exist and should be utilized in their homes,” noted Schatz.  “The National Coalition created www.filterreview.com to assist parents in selecting an appropriate filtering solution for their family.”