Intellectual Property Law

STATE STATUTES REQUIRING INTERNET FILTERING AND INTERNET USAGE POLICIES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES

By IBLS Editor

In the United States, numerous states have supplemented the Federal Children's Internet Protection Act (***) by enacting legislation requiring that public schools and/or libraries adopt Internet filtering and usage policies to prevent minors from gaining access to sexually explicit, obscene, or otherwise harmful materials.

To-date, twenty-one states have enacted Internet filtering legislation requiring public school and/or public libraries to adopt Internet use policies and to filter certain Websites that are offensive or harmful to minors. While federal law already contains similar requirements, some states enacted their own legislation in this regard. The most common explanation given for this law duplication is that threatening to remove state funding from these public institutions seems to be the most effective way to enforce such laws.

Since the late nineties, there has been an ongoing debate between those who lobbied for the installation of Internet filters in public institutions, such as schools and libraries, and those who decried such practices as violative of individuals" First Amendment rights. Since then, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of such Internet filters in public places. In light of this, numerous states have enacted legislation requiring the adoption of Internet filters and Internet use policies in public libraries and schools. Furthermore, arguments against such legislative measures have largely abated since filtering technology has become more sophisticated in recent years, minimizing the risk of filtering legitimate Websites.

Most state legislations of this kind require public libraries, public schools, or both to install software and/or develop policies to prevent minors from gaining access to harmful Internet materials. As a side-effect of these requirements, such Internet filters, when installed, also prevent adult viewers from accessing these sites. However, most statutes also contain provisions requiring libraries and/or schools to remove the filters on a particular computer upon an adult user request.

Do all state ***-like statutes require public libraries and/or schools to install Internet filtering technology?
Most state statutes that attempt to restrict Internet access to harmful materials to minors do not require public institutions to install filtering technologies specifically. Rather, most statutes either require public libraries and/or schools to adopt policies that would prevent minors from accessing harmful or obscene material on the Internet, or, alternatively, give such institutions an option of preventing such access either by means of a policy or by means of filtering software.

What is the public opinion concerning such Internet filtering legislation and policies?
Although, as with almost any issue, public opinion varies, surveys conducted by public libraries in various states point to the fact that most citizens believe that such Internet filters and Internet usage policies are necessary to protect children from exposure to obscene, pornographic, or other types of harmful material. For instance, in a comprehensive survey conducted by the City of Fort Worth Public Library, 86.7% strongly agreed that such access to Internet pornography should be restricted to children less than 17 years of age.

What difficulties have public schools encountered in enforcing state Internet filtering legislation?
Not every state has decided to include public schools within the scope of application of its Internet filtering legislation. There are challenges in enforcing such legislation in schools where computers are used for educational purposes. Although Internet filtering technology is becoming more sophisticated each year, nevertheless schools struggle with ensuring that materials that are inappropriate for minors are filtered, while educational Websites that might mistakenly be blocked by filtering technologies remain within the students? reach.

Furthermore, students often surpass their teachers in computer proficiency, making enforcement of Internet usage policies difficult. Some students view such policies as a challenge to their technical expertise and attempt to find ways to get around the filtering systems, some experts say.

Internet filtering statutes in such states as California, Delaware, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania do not apply to public schools.

Full post as published by IBLS Internet Law Blog on December 29, 2008 (boomark / email).