Political-action and legal groups are applauding the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a 2000 law requiring schools and libraries receiving federal Internet funds to protect kids from online pornographic materials.
“This is a groundbreaking decision that represents a major victory and a breakthrough in regulating Internet pornography,” said Jay Sekulow, chief legal counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, or ACLJ, an international public-interest law firm specializing in constitutional law. “We’re delighted that the Supreme Court determined that the government does have a compelling interest to protect children from pornography on the Internet.”
A majority of justices ruled 6-3 Monday that the law, passed by Congress three years ago, does not turn librarians into censors, because libraries can turn off the filters for adult users of the Internet, if asked to do so – a requirement considered by the court as not too burdensome.
The ruling reinstates a federal law, called the Child Internet Protection Act, requiring Internet porn filters to be installed on library computers or have them risk losing federal funds.
Congress has passed three laws since 1996 attempting to protect children from Internet smut. The first was overturned by the high court and the second, the Associated Press reported, was blocked from taking effect.
The third challenge was mounted by the American Library Association and the American Civil Liberties Union, both of which had argued that filters amount to censorship and that they can block valuable information.
“The American Library Association again calls for full disclosure of what sites filtering companies are blocking, who is deciding what is filtered and what criteria are being used,” said a statement issued by the ALA. “Findings of fact clearly show that filtering companies are not following legal definitions of ‘harmful to minors’ and ‘obscenity.’ Their practices must change.”
But family-friendly advocacy groups were pleased with the decision and called it a victory for children.
“Libraries should be safe-zones of quiet and learning for children,” said Ken Connor, president of the Family Research Council. “No filtering software is going to work 100 percent of the time, and when necessary, sites that are mistakenly blocked can be unblocked. On the other hand, it may take a lifetime to undo the damage suffered by a child exposed to an obscene image.”
Said Sekulow: “It is now clear that public libraries must actively protect the well-being of children – including the type of materials available to them via the Internet. The ruling makes clear that there is not a First Amendment exemption to Internet pornography aimed at children.”
Judith Krug, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, tried to put the ruling in a favorable light.
“The decision … is very narrow in that Justices Kennedy and Breyer did not join Chief Justice Rehnquist’s opinion – they only joined the judgment,” she said, in a statement. “Justices Kennedy and Breyer joined the judgment because they believe adult patrons need only ask the librarian to ‘please disable the filter’ and need not provide any reason for the request. In light of this, we expect libraries that decide they must accept filters to inform their patrons how easily the filters can be turned off.”
Added Chris Hansen, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU, “Although we are disappointed that the court upheld a law that is unequivocally a form of censorship, there is a silver lining. The justices essentially rewrote the law to minimize its effect on adult library patrons.”
The government argued that libraries don’t have obscene books and magazines on their shelves and, therefore, should not be offering such material via the Internet through their computers.
In its friend-of-the-court brief, the ACLJ represented itself and nine members of the U.S. House of Representatives: Reps. Robert B. Aderholt, R-Ala.; Todd Akin, R-Mo.; Michael Collins, R-Ga.; Jo Ann S. Davis, R-Va.; Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.; Ernest Istook, Jr., R-Okla.; Jim Ryun, R-Kan.; John M. Shimkus, R-Ill.; and John Sullivan, R-Okla.
The law was signed by President Clinton in 2000.
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