ALA Counsel: Compliance With Filtering Law Implies Conundrum

Staff -- Library Journal, 1/15/2001

A new memo from the legal counsel to the American Library Association concerning compliance with the new national filtering law, the Children's Internet Protection Act, provides answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the law. However, the memo implies a conundrum for libraries that comply with the act: "At this time, the American Library Association is not aware of any filtering program that will block out illegal content but allow access to [all] constitutionally protected materials." A subsection of the law, the Neighborhood Children's Internet Protection Act, also directs libraries and schools to address the safety and security of minors using electronic mail and chat rooms, as well as unauthorized disclosure and dissemination of personal identification.