Within days of the passage of the legislation a lawsuit was filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Privacy Information Center. The lawsuit questioned the constitutionality of the law. As a result of this lawsuit a federal district court placed an injunction against enforcement of the law. In the latest attempt to ban the internet the Supreme Court sent a case referring to COPA to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to decide on a "wider range of First Amendment Issues" (Ban on COPA). They did not, however, revoke the injunction issued barring enforcement of the law. .
Those people who are for government censorship are, in my opinion, either unwilling to put forth the effort to ensure that the youth of today grow up in a healthy environment, or think that parents cannot do it on their own. Matthew Queler wrote an essay about pornography, children, and the laws that need to put into place to make sure these two things do not come into contact with each other. In his essay he talks about how child pornography needs to be stopped and how our children need to be protected from pornography and other offensive sites on the internet. That is a common sentiment but his way of eradicating the industry is by government implemented laws and regulations. He says that "the need for special protection of the young has become an accepted government interest" (Queler 119). He goes on to talk about the government interests involved and how it has too much rooted in this to just basically sit around and not do anything.
Government censorship of the internet is not the answer to the problems many see with the internet. First, government censorship is a violation of free speech. The constitution guarantees all citizens the right to free speech. This free speech has limitations and exceptions but nonetheless, it is still considered free speech.