Online Policy Group

The Commission has no funding and no sponsoring agency, although it is tasked with providing a report to Congress sometime in October 2000 before disbanding in November 2000.

The Commission has held hearings and heard testimony from a variety of Internet technologists, policymakers, child advocates, pornographers, and guardians of free speech.

Additional Resources

Final Report of the COPA Commission

The Commission on Online Child Protection final report presented to the U.S. Congress "concludes that no single technology or method will effectively protect children from harmful material online" and raises "significant concerns about First Amendment values when server-side filters are used in libraries and schools", October 20, 2000

U.S. Congress Panel Balks at Filtering Web Smut

A congressionally chartered panel on Friday will recommend voluntary Internet smut filtering in schools and libraries, a step short of a mandatory child-shielding plan about to be voted on by Congress, Reuters, October 20, 2000

Will COPA Commission Report Influence Vote on Tying E-rate to Filters?

Pending in a Congressional conference committee is the Labor-HHS appropriations bill, HR 4577 which includes amendments that would tie the receipt of E-rate telecomm discounts and LSTA funds to use of filters to block obscenity, child pornography, and "harmful to minors material", LibraryJournal.com, October 16, 2000

COPA Commission III Hearing Report

An exclusive Online Policy Group report on the third and final scheduled public hearing which took place at San Jose State University, August 3-4, 2000

Surfers Need to Roam Porn-Free

Adult sites and technologists testify that building new kid-friendly Internet zones is more feasible than trying to filter out smut. Oscar S. Cisneros of Wired News reports from the COPA hearings in San Jose, California, August 4, 2000.

Round Up the Usual Suspects: Filters, COPA, and All That

Librarian and OPG Academic Advisory Board member Karen Schneider reports on the COPA Commission hearing in Richmond, Virginia, July 2000.

COPA Commission

The COPA Commission web site which includes a list of the hearings and most of the testimony provided at those hearings, as well as some links to other helpful resources.