Utah Legislature Passes Library Internet Obscenity Bill

Staff -- Library Journal, 3/6/2000

The Utah Legislature has unanimously passed HB 157, which bars state funds from any public library unless it "adopts and enforces a policy to restrict access by minors to Internet or online sites that contain obscene material." State Librarian Amy Owen said that, given the expectation that some sort of Internet access bill would pass, the Utah Library Association supported the bill, noting that it does not abrogate the legal authority of local boards, and that it does not specify use of filters. The bill does not take effect until July 2001. Over the coming year, the State Library staff will work with its statutory oversight board to develop a draft standard for Internet access. "Determining 'obscenity' is of course the crux of the issue," Owen said. "It is neither simple nor straightforward. Given that Utah has an existing law on the display of material 'harmful to minors,' (a broader category to obscenity) it is likely that we will need to interpret HB 157 in this context."