Prompted by what it deems "the proliferation of blocking software in libraries," the American Civil Liberties Union issued a 17-page report on June 17 that condemns the use of filters on public-access computers and bills such as the Internet School Filtering Act as "both inappropriate and unconstitutional."
Ironically, the recent addition of the American Family Association Web site to CyberPatrol's list of blocked URLs gave the authors of Censorship in a Box: Why Blocking Software Is Wrong for Public Libraries a fresh example of why "the answer to blocking based on ideological viewpoint is not more blocking." The AFA, which advocates the use of filters, had its site blocked for the group's opposition to homosexuality.
As alternatives to filters, the report recommends the establishment of acceptable-use policies, privacy screens, online time limits, links to child-friendly Web sites, and end-user training.
Posted June 22, 1998.