Joy: the Supreme Court has found that the Child Internet
Protection Act is not unconstitutional.
Joy: the Supreme Court has found that the Child Internet Protection Act is not unconstitutional.
The decision is sheer bliss to read. “… public libraries’ use of Internet filtering software does not violate their patrons’ First Amendment rights … Nor does CIPA impose an unconstitutional condition of public libraries.” Take that, County Counsel Ann Ravel.
The library is not a public forum. Take that, Markula Institute. Even dissenting Justice Stevens agrees “with the plurality that the 7 percent of public libraries that decided to use such software on all their Internet terminals in 2000 did not act unlawfully.” Take that, retired County Librarian Susan Fuller.
“Moving terminals to places where their displays cannot easily be seen by other patrons, or installing privacy screens or recessed monitors, would not address a library’s interest in preventing patrons from deliberately using its computers to view online pornography. To the contrary, these alternatives would make it easier for a patron to do so.” Take that, Gilroy librarian Lani Yoshimura.
Most importantly, even the justices who dissented with the majority opinion agree that “the interest in protecting young library users from material inappropriate for minors is legitimate, and even compelling, as all Members of the Court appear to agree.” Take that, American Library Association, and take your policy of “all materials to all patrons regardless of age,” stick it in your pipe, and smoke it.
Connie Rogers obviously has not read the decision, or she would know that the justices did not ignore the fact that filters are an imperfect technology. Rather, the Court said that since filters can easily be unblocked in the case of erroneous blocking, and disabled altogether in the case of an adult doing bona fide legitimate research, they are an adequate technology to address the problem.
Lani Yoshimura is simply disingenuous when she says that only a handful of complaints have been made. KIDS stopped collecting complaints in 1999; we had 26 at that time. Furthermore, librarians don’t document patron complaints.
Nor is Ms. Yoshimura being altogether truthful when she says that porn-viewing children will be helped out of their sites, and that for teens and adults, librarians may ask patrons to cease viewing if it disturbs other patrons. When my friend complained last year that a 10-year-old child was viewing porn, she was told, “There’s nothing we can do.”
So: the Supreme Court hath ruled. There is something we could do. The only question is: do we need to?
I do wish we could take Lani Yoshimura’s word that there is no problem. Unfortunately, (hmmm, how can I say this sweetly?) I have seen enough evidence over the years of our struggle to realize that her deeply held philosophy of “open access to all patrons regardless of age” colors her perception of reality.
And I cannot, of my own experience, offer any recent incidents about library net porn. Back in 1996, my children, then aged 12, 9, and 6, were allowed to walk over to the library for summer reading club. We spent hours at the library, two and three times a week, happily browsing for buried treasure. All that changed when Internet porn became an issue. Now I don’t allow my 13-year-old daughter in the library without me. We occasionally dash in, grab her fix of Calvin and Hobbes, check out, and leave. I don’t think it’s a safe place for children.
So we don’t hang out there, so I have seen nothing. But I know many parents who don’t share my prejudice. I know many people who feel that they can keep their kids safe in the library, and even many who feel that their kids can use the library unsupervised.
Therefore, for information’s sake, I ask that any person who witnesses an incident of library ‘net porn write it down. You can submit it to the library as a complaint, but it is unlikely in that event to ever be widely read. You can send it to the Joint Powers Authority. You can write a letter to The Dispatch. Or you can send a copy to KIDS, 1340 First St., PMB G-6, Gilroy, 95020, and we will be happy to send copies to the JPA and the library for you. Freedom of information, yes?
Cynthia Walker is a homeschooling mother of three and former engineer. She is a published independent author. Her column is published in The Dispatch every Friday.
