Many individuals feel the Government should have more involvement in regulating the Internet for minors. Although it has been tough to regulate the activity over the Internet, individuals and groups have been pushing hard to improve the way we communicate and trade information over the Internet.
Another law that has helped in discontinuing the violation of sexually explicit messaging is called the Child Online Protection Act of 1998 (Tulsa, 2002). This act made it unlawful to post materials that are harmful to minors on any website that is available to those under the age of 17 (Tulsa, 2002). This legislation along with the first one described has gone through a tremendous amount of scrutiny by the U.S. Supreme Court as overly broad and in violation of the First Amendment (Tulsa, 2002). These issues that arise from the legislative acts originate not only from arguments on sexually explicit material, but also from material not suitable for minors, which can include violent streaming videos or simple commercial advertising over the internet. These kinds of issues make the Government's job of regulating the Internet very difficult. One person should not be withheld from media or information on the web because the website could be accessed by minors. This creates a privacy issue that is hard to regulate. An example like this can be in violation of the First Amendment and thus cannot be held up in court as a valid argument.
There is one Act that is solid in the fight to protect the minors of today's Internet world. This act is called the Children's Internet Protection Act, or CIPA enacted in 2000. (Tulsa, 2002). According to the same article, "More than a thousand studies have shown that the extended exposure of children to violent and vile material in the media makes them significantly more likely to engage in antisocial behaviors. Moreover, the courts have regularly recognized that protecting children is a compelling public interest" (Tulsa, 2002).
