The U.S. Justice Department notified the Supreme Court June 20 that it planned to appeal the May 31 ruling by a federal district court that struck down the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), a law that denies federal funds to public libraries that have not installed Internet filtering software. The American Library Association and the American Civil Liberties Union had sued to overturn the law, saying that it blocked constitutionally protected speech.
The Supreme Court will likely hear arguments in the case early next year, according to the June 20 Washington Post, assuming that it does not dismiss the appeal.
Emily Sheketoff, executive director of ALA’s Washington Office, said in the June 21 online Wired News that she believed the Supreme Court would be swayed by evidence that demonstrated the filters were buggy and unreliable. ACLU Litigation Director Ann Beeson agreed, saying, “We’re confident that the Supreme Court will affirm the strong opinion of the lower court declaring unconstitutional forced Internet censorship in libraries.”
Posted June 24, 2002.