After a young girl noticed a man viewing pornography at a library in Florida, the man simply was asked to close the site and was monitored. Library administrators claimed they were required to allow access to pornography sites.
But the 2003 Children’s Internet Protection Act requires public libraries to use filtering and blocking technology to keep federal funding. The American Library Association (ALA), with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), is circumventing the law.
David Miller, vice president of public policy at Ohio's Citizens for Community Values, said the ALA has no legal authority, but does have "a very liberal policy when it comes to patrons' access to material, and its members are encouraged to push those same ideas and policies.”
That includes granting every request to view filtered or blocked sites, often with the knowledge that kids will see them, too.
Matt Barber, policy director for cultural issues at Concerned Women for America, said the ALA and ACLU are using scare tactics to get libraries to allow unlimited access.
“We know that the ACLU and other organizations are using the First Amendment and saying this is an infringement on First Amendment rights for libraries, and it infringes upon the rights of the individual using the library," he said.
“Well, that’s simply not true.”
Since the 2003 Supreme Court ruling upholding the Children's Protection Act, the ACLU has advised libraries to turn down federal funding rather than be censored.
