Pro-Filtering Crusader Blankets
States with FOIA Requests
Filtering Facts President David Burt has launched a new phase in his effort to force libraries to turn over documentation of “patron and staff complaints . . . about patrons accessing pornographic or sexually explicit material on public Internet terminals.” Public libraries in California, Idaho, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin—and possibly other states as well—last week received Freedom of Information Act requests to release internal memos, e-mail messages, or incident reports.
The requests were tailored to the specific FOIA law in each state, including provisions for response time and permission to “redact any personally identifying details from the records.” ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom has posted guidelines on its Web site on responding to these requests.
Burt was unavailable for comment.
Posted June 28, 1999.
|
