Date: Fri 09-Jul-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

iinfo-filters-First-Amendment

Full Text:

INTERNET INFO FOR REAL PEOPLE: Filtering on the Web

By Bob Brand

The aftershocks of the Columbine tragedy have resulted in a stampede by

legislators to pass laws to somehow prevent a reoccurrence. The Internet again

catches blame for spreading bomb making recipes, pornography, hate messages,

alienation, the easy accessibility to firearms, and other ills that have been

assigned to this inexplicable episode. The lawmakers, in an attempt to show

that they are doing something, have come up with an easy solution: filter out

the bad stuff on the Internet. Oh boy!

Filters Everywhere

Anyone who works in a large corporate setting or in a public school system

knows that filters are in place. Professor Jerome Zeifman, former Watergate

counselor, enjoys a wide cyber-readership audience from numerous articles on

the World Net Daily (WND) website. He heard from a WND reader employed by a

large defense contractor that access was recently blocked to WND. The incident

occurred when a May 19 article appeared containing this critical passage: "The

multinational missile and bomb manufacturers whose stock rose when we started

bombing Yugoslavia -- and rose even higher when we bombed the Chinese

Embassy."

School districts connected to the Internet must employ filters. While the

World Wide Web provides a rich vein of cyber-information, it also contains an

extensive amount of material that is inappropriate for school-age children.

Computer network administrators in all school systems fight an ongoing battle

in filter wars.

At The Library

The critical battle has moved to the many libraries across the country

connected to the Internet. Recently a Virginia federal court ruled that

filtering software in libraries violated the First Amendment and had no place

in a public institution. The American Library Association (ALA) has taken a

strong position in refusing to censor or filter Websites. That position is

best summed up by Alice Knapp, director, Bethel Library in Connecticut:

"We are against filters. All forms of constitutionally protected speech must

be preserved. The Internet certainly qualifies here, even if some of the

material may be distasteful or inappropriate for young children. Under careful

parental supervision in the home, a filter may be appropriate. However, in a

library a filter is the wrong answer."

On the other side of the filtering fence stands radio personality, Dr Laura

Schlessinger. Still smarting from old "dirty dozen" pictures posted on the

Internet by a former boyfriend, Schlesinger now rails against potential

pornography in libraries. In a Salon.com article, "Dr Laura Targets the New

Sodom: Libraries," she says, "The ALA is boldly, brashly contributing to

sexualizing our children, and now the pedophiles know where to go."

Knapp is keenly aware of the position taken by the shrill radio personality.

She comments that if Schlessinger were to visit a library she might find a

growing trend where mothers and daughters enter a chat room connected to the

Net from adjoining cubicles. "Tag Team Chatting sessions have the best filter

of all, a concerned parent," says Alice Knapp.

The Political Season

On the heels of the Monica Circus, the next presidential campaign will surely

focus on family values. Already GOP presidential hopeful Elizabeth Dole is on

record with this statement: "Federal tax dollars should never be used to

poison our children or provide free pornography for adults." She has asked

Congress to deny federal funds to public libraries unless they restrict

Internet access for all patrons.

On February 9, Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., introduced the Internet School

Filtering Act, S. 1619 -- co-sponsored by Senators Ernest Hollings, D-S.C.,

Dan Coats, R-Ind., and Patty Murray, D-Wash. The bill would deny all federal

funds to libraries or schools that do not "filter or block matter deemed to be

inappropriate for minors." We will all be hearing more on the filtering issue

as the political season picks up momentum.

The Gatekeepers

Filters are imperfect. In fact, they give a false sense of security. Turning

an unsupervised youngster loose with a mouse connected to the Internet (with

or without a filter) is a bad idea. If librarians are coerced into becoming

the gatekeepers of what adults can access from the Internet in public

libraries because politicians legislate that children can have free rein of

the computers, it will be a very sad day.

URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) of interest:

http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/20464.html

http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/1999/05/27/dr_laura/index1.html

(This is the 162nd of a series of elementary articles designed for surfing the

Internet. Next, "Finding People" is the subject on tap. Stay tuned. Until next

week, happy travels through cyberspace. Previous issues of Internet Info for

Real People can be found: http://www.thebee.com. Please e-mail comments and

suggestions: rbrand@JUNO.com or editor@thebee.com.)