City, ACLU File Appeal Briefs
in Livermore Filtering Case
The city of Livermore, California, and the American Civil Liberties Union filed briefs October 18 in the appeal of a suit by a woman and her son to mandate filtering software for the Livermore Public Library’s children’s-area workstations.
The Livermore brief supports the trial court’s finding that section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act preempts the state law on which plaintiffs Kathleen R. and Brandon P. based their argument. It also argues that the city has immunity under the California Tort Claims Act.
The ACLU of Northern California filed its amicus curiae brief on behalf of itself, the national ACLU, People for the American Way, and ALA’s Freedom to Read Foundation. It states that “plaintiff is demanding that librarians assume the role of Internet censor, determining which websites patrons may access and which they may not,” which it calls “a role forbidden by the First Amendment.” However, it argues that the constitutional defense is unnecessary since the complaint “fails to state a cause of action under either state or federal law.”
The League of California Cities and the California State Association of Counties are expected to file a second amicus curiae brief.
Posted October 25, 1999.
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