Hasn’t COPPA been declared unconstitutional?
No. COPPA went into effect on April 21, 2000 and has never been challenged. The Child Online Protection Act (COPA), enacted on October 23, 1998, is often confused with COPPA. COPA sought to prohibit online sites from knowingly making available to minors material that is “harmful to minors.” Enforcement of this law was immediately subject to legal challenge under the First Amendment. In June 2004, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court injunction against the law, ruling that it was most likely unconstitutional. The Court, however, sent the case back to the trial court to determine whether, given technological developments, COPA is the least restrictive alternative available to accomplish Congress’ goal in enacting the statute. After a trial on the merits of the case, in March of 2007, the trial court again found that COPA was unconstitutional.
