Numerous Lawsults over Internet Access in Libraries

by Karen L. Willoughby                                                                                Vol. XII, No. 9, October 1999

The problem with public liraries offering unlimited Internet access is twofold, software filtering advocates say. First, there are the people who library computer terminal to call up pornographic images either for their personal gratification or for the shock value when inadvertently seen by others, or even to attract the attention of wide-eyed youngsters who might be available for child molestation. Second, there are children who trade porn Internet sites like baseball cards and who look at pornography to be "cool" to their friends.

Community residents quickly find themselves labeled "pests" when they request controls be placed on Internet access at libraries.

Libraries find themselves between two masters – the community they serve and the professional organization of which they are a part, the American Library Association. The ALA in its annual meeting last June voted against software filters. The American Civil Liberties Union has sued several Iibraries that decided to provide the controls. Following is a list of the legal actions in this ongoing battle:

-- Bakersfield, Calif., may have been the first library to address the issue of availability of Internet porn to its underage patrons. The Kern County Library adopted a resolution in the summer of 1996 to restrict access.

-- The Orange County (Fla.) Board in November 1996 ordered the software program WebSense to be all its terminals.

-- Ohio attracted the attention of the ALA and the ACLU when in the spring of 1997 legislation was discussed that would have required Internet filtering in all 245 public library systems in the state. The bill was amended in May 1997 to allow local boards to create their own software policies.

Pockets of protests percolate across the nation, in Los Angeles; San Francisco; Detroit; Tampa, FL; Phoenix; Salt Lake City; Richmond, VA; Lexington, KY; Wichita, KN; Augusta, GA; Cedar Rapids IO; Shawnee, OK, and many more.

And lately:

– Virginia: A lawsuit pending in Loudoun County, which challenges the use of software filters in public libraries, is considered the national test case because of resolve on both sides to take the issue to the Supreme Court if need be. The judge -- a former librarian -- in early April ruled "that the library board may not adopt and enforce content-based restrictions on access to protected internet speech absent a compelling state interest and means narrowly drawn to achieve that end."

-- New Mexico: In mid-March, Gov. Gary Johnson signed one of the most restrictive laws in the nation, and a grow ing number of other states are considering Communications Decency Act laws requiring schools and libraries to install filtering software on computers used by minors. The Supreme Court last July ruled the Communications Decency Act violated free speech provisions of the U.S. Constitution.

-- Arizona: An amended House Bill 2455 passed the Arizona House of Representatives March 26 by a 33-24 vote. The bill now goes to the state Senate, where it is expected to pass. The bill as amended requires public libraries to choose one of three options: use blocking software; purchase Internet services from Internet service providers who filter; or by Jan. 1, 1999 develop a policy to block minors' access to Internet porn.

-- California: The Libertarian Party of Ventura County filed a lawsuit March 3 against the local library system because it requires patrons of branch computer terminals to sign a form in which they agree to not view sexually explicit material. The Libertarian Party alleges the form is unconstitutional because it violates patrons' First Amendment rights.

Elsewhere in California, public libraries in Kern County in February stopped using software filters to block access to pornographic Internet sites after threats of a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, according to a March 21 article in The Los Angeles Times. A similar case is pending in Orange County, Calif.

-- Texas: The Austin library system recently began a two-month experiment that provides free Internet access to adult patrons at four of its 56 patron computer terminals. This is in the face of a threat of suit from the ACLU. (The ACLU has won every ruling in the four lawsuits it has filed that have been heard in court to date over Internet censorship.)

-- Florida: Broward County's public library system has created a homegrown list of pre-selected sites for viewing by minors for when it goes on-line later this year. This list technically is not a filter, so they hope to be out of the legal loop ensnaring many library systems.

Elsewhere in the state, the Tampa-Hillsborough county council voted in mid-March to filter with WebSense all terminals in its public library system.

Also in Broward County, Paul and Jodi Hoffman are suing the local school board for providing sex education and unlimited Internet access to children despite parental objections.

Apart from the courtroom, school administrators in Bellingham, WA, provide unfettered access to the Internet in order to teach students to use the resources of cyberspace wisely, according to a March 25 article in The New York Times. "We are trying to show young people that they have to exercise good judgment in their selection of information," said Jamieson A. McKenzie, director of libraries and media in Bellingham when the program was enacted.

The issue of library use of software filters is spilling over into schools. Filtering blocks out too much and it doesn't teach kids the critical skills they need to use this resource as they grow older, contended David L. Sobel, legal counsel for the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center, in The Times article. Still, Vice President AI Gore on March 23 urged Congress to pass legislation that would require schools and libraries using federal subsidies for Internet access to block inappropriate material from children. The bill is being sponsored by Sen. John McCain of Arizona. [BP]