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Internet Bills Stymied in South CarolinaTwo South Carolina Senate bills that would have affected unrestricted access to Web information in libraries across the state were neutralized March 1. S1076, which would have removed public libraries’ immunity from prosecution for allowing minors to view smut on the Internet, was tabled by the Senate Judiciary Committee after a March 1 public hearing. “It’s a relief,” said State Librarian Jim Johnson, who testified at the hearing. “It provided penalties to any staff member providing information someone might deem inappropriate—the same information that could’ve been given to the same child by anyone else,” he told the Rock Hill Herald March 6. S1031, which would have required all public, school, and academic libraries to install filtering software on any computer available to students or the public, was modified March 1 to require all public libraries to have a policy designed to deter smut surfing. “I don’t think it’s appropriate for anybody to set library policies other than a county’s local library board,” Johnson said. “It would be the same thing if the state told the library what books to buy.” The bills stemmed from the controversy surrounding the Greenville County Public Library, whose director was ousted February 28 for, among other things, opposing filtering software. Posted March 13, 2000. |
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