While GreekChat was down, a landmark case for intellectual freedom went to trial. The American Library Association and the Multnomah County, Oregon, Library Association are the two primary litigants in a case that is out to prove that the Children's Internet Protection Act is unconstitutional.
This act requires that all libraries that receive federal E-rate funding (a discounted service for Internet access) must install filtering software (censorware) on ALL their computers, not just the ones that are intended for use by children. What's wrong with this?
1) There is no technology available that blocks all offensive sites, and even if it did...
2) What's offensive to one person may not be to another. Some say Harry Potter is satanic, others say it's just a good story about a boy wizard coming of age. In addition to this debate, a lot of constitutionally protected speech is blocked by filters.
3) People without strong economic resources are dependent on their local libraries for information. Censorware blocks a lot of sites like Planned Parenthood, which people may depend on for accurate health information. Libraries which don't have a lot of money are dependent on the Internet to keep up on the latest information, since they may not be able to buy as many books. Internet filtering further widens the gap between those who "have" and those who "have not."
4) Even if these filters were only for children's computers, who is the government to say what kids can or can't look at. The only people who can truly answer that question are the parents. Parents often drop their kids off at the local library for hours after school, thinking that their children are safe, when in fact the library is not equipped to take care of children. I am no one's parent and do not intend to police children's internet use based on my beliefs.
As a librarian, intellectual freedom is one of the things I care about most. Equal access to information is what keeps us free. You can read more about this at
the ALA's CIPA website or at ABC news or CNN.
What are your thoughts?
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