"Adult Web sites that have largely enjoyed freedom from government interference could be in for a unpleasant surprise as early as Monday, when the US Supreme Court is set to deliver a long-awaited ruling on pornography. The court is expected to decide early next week whether the Child Online Protection Act violates Americans' right to free expression on the Internet. The 1998 law, which restricts sexually explicit material deemed 'harmful to minors' that appears on commercial Web sites, includes civil fines and prison terms in its provisions. COPA has been on hold during the court proceedings," reports CNet.
"'If it's upheld, there will be a shock wave,' said Ann Beeson, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union who argued the case before the high court. 'We've been assuming on the Internet that there aren't laws like this.'"
