Ending the filtering thread/Filtering FAQ

[L Champelli]

On Thu, 10 Jul 1997, CMUNSON wrote:

> I'm trying to keep my posts to a minimum. Laura and I are working on a 
> Filtering FAQ so that some of our arguments won't have to be endlessly 
> repeated. If you'd like to help with the FAQ, send us some email.

I would forward a copy of the filtering FAQ that librarians at my library
drafted as part of our efforts to prepare staff for answering patron
questions about Internet access at our library, but ALA recently approved
a comprehensive statement on Library Use of Filtering Software that
includes an even better filtering FAQ. I don't recall that this info. has
been posted to this list, so I've included it in the forwarded message
below ...

-- Lisa Champelli
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Children's Librarian - lchampel at monroe.lib.in.us 
Monroe County Public Library - http://www.monroe.lib.in.us
Internet Advocate - http://www.monroe.lib.in.us/~lchampel/netadv.html


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 07 Jul 1997 11:19:35 -0500
From: Bridget Sweeney <bsweeney at ala.org>
To: ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom List <alaoif at ala1.ala.org>
Subject: Statement on library use of filtering software

This statement was developed by the Intellectual Freedom Committee at
the annual conference.  It's designed to support the resolution.

STATEMENT ON LIBRARY USE OF FILTERING SOFTWARE AMERICAN LIBRARY
ASSOCIATION/INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM COMMITTEE
July 1, 1997 

On June 26, 1997, the United States Supreme Court issued a sweeping
re-affirmation of core First Amendment principles and held that
communications over the Internet deserve the highest level of
Constitutional protection.

The Court's most fundamental holding is that communications on the
Internet deserve the same level of Constitutional protection as books,
magazines, newspapers, and speakers on a street corner soapbox.
The Court found that the Internet *constitutes a vast platform from which
to address and hear from a world-wide audience of millions of readers,
viewers, researchers, and buyers,* and that *any person with a phone
line can become a town crier with a voice that resonates farther than it
could from any soapbox.*

For libraries, the most critical holding of the Supreme Court is that
libraries that make content available on the Internet can continue to do
so with the same Constitutional protections that apply to the books on
libraries' shelves.  The Court's conclusion that *the vast democratic fora
of the Internet* merit full constitutional protection will also serve to
protect libraries that provide their patrons with access to the Internet. 
The Court recognized the importance of enabling individuals to receive
speech from the entire world and to speak to the entire world.  Libraries
provide those opportunities to many who would not otherwise have them.
The Supreme Court's decision will protect that access.

The use in libraries of software filters which block Constitutionally
protected speech is inconsistent with the United States Constitution and
federal law and may lead to legal exposure for the library and its
governing authorities.  The American Library Association affirms that the
use of filtering software abridges the Library Bill of Rights.

WHAT IS BLOCKING/ FILTERING SOFTWARE?

Blocking/filtering software is a mechanism used to:

*restrict access to Internet content, based on an internal database of the
product, or;

*restrict access to Internet content through a database maintained
external to the product itself, or;

*restrict access to Internet content to certain ratings assigned to those
sites by a third party, or;

*restrict access to Internet content by scanning content, based on a
keyword, phrase or text string or;

*restrict access to Internet content based on the source of the
information.


PROBLEMS WITH THE USE OF BLOCKING/FILTERING SOFTWARE IN LIBRARIES

*Publicly supported libraries are governmental institutions subject to the
First Amendment, which forbids them from restricting information based
on viewpoint or content discrimination.

*Libraries are places of inclusion rather than exclusion. Current
blocking/filtering software prevents not only access to what some may
consider *objectionable* material, but also blocks information protected
by the First Amendment. The result is that legal and useful material will
inevitably be blocked.  Examples of sites that have been blocked by
popular commercial blocking/filtering products include those on breast
cancer, AIDS, women's rights, and animal rights.

*Filters can impose the producer's viewpoint on the community.

*Producers do not generally reveal what is being blocked, or provide
methods for users to reach sites that were inadvertently blocked.

*Criteria used to block content are vaguely defined and subjectively
applied.

*The vast majority of Internet sites are informative and useful.
Blocking/filtering software often blocks access to materials it is not
designed to block.

*Most blocking/filtering software is designed for the home market. Filters
are intended to respond to the preferences of parents making decisions for
their own children.  Libraries are responsible for serving a broad and
diverse community with different preferences and views. Blocking Internet
sites is antithetical to library missions because it requires the library
to limit information access. 

*In a library setting, filtering today is a one-size-fits-all *solution,*
which cannot adapt to the varying ages and maturity levels of individual
users. 

*A role of librarians is to advise and assist users in selecting
information resources. Parents and only parents have the right and
responsibility to restrict their own children's access * and only their
own children's access * to library resources, including the Internet.
Librarians do not serve in loco parentis. 

*Library use of blocking/filtering software creates an implied contract
with parents that their children will not be able to access material on
the Internet that they do not wish their children read or view.  Libraries
will be unable to fulfill this implied contract, due to the technological
limitations of the software, thus exposing themselves to possible legal
liability and litigation. 

*Laws prohibiting the production or distribution of child pornography and
obscenity apply to the Internet. These laws provide protection for
libraries and their users.

WHAT CAN YOUR LIBRARY DO TO PROMOTE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET?

*Educate yourself, your staff, library board, governing bodies,
community leaders, parents, elected officials etc., about the Internet and
how best to take advantage of the wealth of information available. For
examples of what other libraries have done, contact the ALA Public
Information Office at 800-545-2433, ext. 5044 or pio at ala.org.

*Uphold the First Amendment by establishing and implementing written
guidelines and policies on Internet use in your library in keeping with
your library's overall policies on access to library materials. For
information on and copies of  the Library Bill of Rights and its
Interpretation on Electronic Information, Services and Networks, contact
the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom at 800/545-2433, ext. 4223.

*Promote Internet use by facilitating user access to Web sites that
satisfy user interest and needs.

*Create and promote library Web pages designed both for general use
and for use by children. These pages should point to sites that have
been reviewed by library staff.

*Consider using privacy screens or arranging terminals away from
public view to protect a user's confidentiality.

*Provide information and training for parents and minors that remind
users of time, place and manner restrictions on Internet use.

*Establish and implement user behavior policies.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS TOPIC, CONTACT THE OFFICE FOR
INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AT 800/545-2433, EXT. 4223, BY FAX AT
(312) 280-4227, OR BY E-MAIL AT OIF at ALA.ORG.