Free speech first

A judge in Philadelphia has ruled against a law that makes it a crime to put
“harmful” material on the Internet where children can see it. Congress passed
the Child Online Protection Act last year, requiring anyone who puts potentially
harmful material on the Net to guarantee that only adults can see it, for
instance by demanding credit card details. But Lowell Reed, a federal district
judge hearing a suit against the law, ruled last week that it would restrict the
constitutional right to free speech among adults.