Public Information Campaign Announced to Free Schools and
Libraries from Blocking Technologies
A network of concerned organizations and prominent individuals
today released a joint statement opposing legislative requirements for school
and library Internet blocking technologies.
The statement came in response to legislation, signed into law as
part of an omnibus appropriations bill on December 21, 2000, which requires
all public schools and libraries participating in certain federal programs
to install Internet blocking technologies. The U.S. Congress passed the
blocking requirement contrary to the recommendations of a commission
studying the technology that was established as part of the earlier Child
Online Protection Act legislation.
Public Information Campaign Announced to Free Schools and
Libraries from Blocking Technologies
A network of concerned organizations and prominent individuals
today released a joint statement opposing legislative requirements for school
and library Internet blocking technologies.
The statement came in response to legislation, signed into law as
part of an omnibus appropriations bill on December 21, 2000, which requires
all public schools and libraries participating in certain federal programs
to install Internet blocking technologies. The U.S. Congress passed the
blocking requirement contrary to the recommendations of a commission
studying the technology that was established as part of the earlier Child
Online Protection Act legislation.
Endorsers of the joint statement urged parents, teachers,
librarians, and
administrators to adopt educational methods that assist young
people in
learning to use the Internet safely and effectively to enhance
their
education. The joint statement also expressed support for legal
challenges
such as those recently announced by the ACLU, the American
Library
Association, and People for the American Way Foundation.
In addition to researching and publishing educational materials
on blocking
technologies for parents, teachers, librarians, administrators,
and the
general public, organizations participating in the statement are
collecting
reports on the use of filtering and blocking technologies in
schools and
libraries. The network will communicate through email lists set
up
particularly for discussion of school and library blocking
technology issues.
Will Doherty, Executive Director of the Online Policy Group,
said, "We have
joined together to oppose Internet blocking requirements because
the
technology underblocks what it is supposed to filter, overblocks
what it is
not supposed to block, relies on subjective \’expert\’ control,
rather than on
local community standards, is error-prone, vulnerable,
problematic, and
unfairly discriminatory, denying access to constitutionally
protected and
educationally important materials that schools and libraries
would otherwise
provide."
Ralph G. Neas, president of People For the American Way
Foundation, added, "We
believe government-mandated censorship does not solve problems
better handled
through local decision-making and educational efforts and we have
committed to
sharing effective strategies to assist young people in learning
to use the
Internet safely and effectively to enhance their education."
The ACLU noted that many people who use libraries for Internet
access are
those not rich enough to own a home computer. "The blocking
software law has
a discriminatory effect on communities of color, whose use of
library
computers to access the Internet is central to bridging the
\’digital
divide,\’" said Ann Beeson, an ACLU staff attorney.
Endorsers of the statement include the American Civil Liberties
Union,
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, the Electronic
Frontier
Foundation, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the First
Amendment
Project, NetAction, the Online Policy Group, Peacefire, People
for the
American Way Foundation, and other individuals and organizations.
Organizations and individuals who wish to add their endorsement
to the joint
statement and participate in networking efforts opposed to school
and library
Internet blocking legislation may email [email protected]
for more
information.
A copy of the joint statement, and other related resources, is
available at
http://www.onlinepolicy.org/network/statement.htm
Contact:
· Emily Whitfield, American Civil Liberties Union,
212-549-2566, [email protected]
· Karen Coyle, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility,
510-987-0567, [email protected]
· Shari Steele, Electronic Frontier Foundation, 415-436-9333 x103,
[email protected]
· David Greene, First Amendment Project, 510-208-7744,
[email protected]
· Will Doherty, Online Policy Group, 415-826-3532, [email protected]
· Bennett Haselton, Peacefire, 425-649-9024, [email protected]
· Nancy Coleman or Melissa Dorfman, People for the American Way
Foundation,
Media Relations, 202-467-4999, [email protected] or [email protected]
– 30 –
Recent Comments