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On June 23, 2003 the Supreme Court of the United States reversed a lower court's ruling that the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is unconstitutional. CIPA forbids public libraries from receiving federal funding unless they install software to block obscene or pornographic images and to prevent minors from accessing materials harmful to them. The following are some online resources regarding this case and the subject of filters in libraries.
Text of the Supreme Court Decision on United States v. American Library Assn,
Inc.
From the Supreme Court's website.
Text of the Children's Internet Protection Act
From the American Library Association's website.
American Library Association's CIPA Updates webpage
ALA's comments regarding the decision, links to external analysis of the
decision, and full-text of the briefs from the case.
ACLU press release regarding the CIPA decision
The American Civil Liberties Union's response to the decision with links to
other resources, documents and commentary on the case.
Text of the Department of Justice's Brief
From the Deparment of Justice's website.
Center for
Community Interest's Protecting Children Online site
The Center for Community Interest worked with the Justice Department to defend
the CIPA, filing an amicus brief on behalf of some public libraries, the text of
which can be found here. Also available, other amicus briefs supporting the
government's CIPA appeal.
A Sampling of newspaper editorials on the
Supreme Court decision:
* Allentown Morning Call..."Library
filters to block e-pornography; a common-sense approach to Internet"
* Arizona Republic..."Filtering
the Web"
* Austin American-Statesman..."Web
filters welcome, but kids will find holes"
* Chicago Tribune..."Filtering
Free Speech"
* Christian Science Monitor..."Blocking
Porn at Libraries"
* [Denver] Rocky Mountain News..."Why
is Congress bossing libraries?"
* Des Moines Register..."Don't
censor libraries"
* Detroit Free Press..."Justices
fail to side with free speech in two cases"
* Eugene Register-Guard..."Unfiltered
justice: Libraries told to block porn or give up grants"
* Indianapolis Star..."Libraries'
duty: Put clamps on porn sites"
* Louisville Courier-Journal..."Library
Filters"
* Memphis Commercial Appeal..."Libraries,
not Congress, should guide Net access"
* Milwaukee Journal Sentinel..."Let
librarians play nanny"
* Minneapolis Star Tribune..."Internet
filters / Affront to librarians, patrons"
* Newsday..."Unnecessary
Headache for Libraries"
* New York Times..."Internet
Filters and Free Speech"
* Peoria Journal-Star...Trust
local libraries to police Internet
* Pittsburgh Post-Gazette..."Library
privileges / The court lets Congress protect children on the Web"
* Providence Journal..."Dictating
to libraries"
* Salt Lake City Tribune..."Unplugged"
* San Antonio Express News..."Free
speech blocked along with porn sites"
* San Francisco Chronicle..."Why
filters flop"
* San Jose Mercury News..."Court
unwisely endorses government censorship at libraries"
* Springfield (MA.) Republican..."Court
is kidding itself on Internet porn filters"
* Tampa Tribune..."Filtering
Smut In Public Libraries"
* Wichita Eagle..."Smut
Free"
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