Some six months after being pressed to filter children's Internet access, the Hennepin County (Minn.) Library board has decided to continue offering youngsters unrestricted online resources.
“Now more than ever, it's important for the parents to be involved. There's so much information out there, and it comes to you so quickly,” board President Patti Baskin said after the vote, the December 17 Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.
Trustees began the policy review last summer after an area minister complained about seeing several teenage girls at HCL's Brookdale branch giggling over hard-core pornography on a computer screen. The Minnesota Family Council subsequently issued a pro-filter resolution that generated statements of concern from three Hennepin County Council members.
Council member Mike Ophat told the Star-Tribune his pro-filter views were “my number one mistake of the year.” He attributed his change of heart to “scary telephone calls from the fringe religious right” in support of restricting access.
Posted December 21, 1998.