Posted May 27, 2005.

Massachusetts Reconsiders Filter-Mandate Bill

Massachusetts Rep. Charles A. Murphy (D-Burlington) has introduced a bill that would require public libraries to install filtering software that blocks materials deemed harmful to minors. H.R. 3530 mandates that libraries with 2–9 workstations filter the internet on one machine; those with 10 or more public-access computers would have to place blocking software on 30% of the workstations. The bill also calls for prominent signage that informs patrons which machines are filtered, according to the May 26 North Adams (Mass.) Transcript.

A similarly worded amendment that was attached to the state budget as proposed by the house has failed, as have profiltering bills Murphy has filed over the past several years. “The primary reason for filing the legislation is to give parents a choice to have their children use a terminal with the filtering technology,” Murphy told American Libraries. Conceding that “the software is not perfect,” Murphy added, “That does not concern me a great deal as the legislation is aimed at children using the internet.”

Massachusetts Library Association President Carolyn Noah told AL that local library boards should be “responsible for making local policy.” MLA passed a resolution in 2001 opposing “attempts by federal and state governments to mandate the use of filters.”

The state legislature’s Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development Committee is scheduled to hold hearings regarding the filtering legislation June 1.

Posted May 27, 2005.