Bumps on the CIPA Road

After a Phoenix-area man was arrested for sexual exploitation of a minor and told police he downloaded child pornography at the Phoenix Public Library (PPL), the city council voted unanimously not to allow adults to turn off the library's Internet filter, which seemingly would run afoul of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA).

The decision sets up an almost inevitable court challenge. Eleanor Eisenberg, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona, told the Arizona Republic, "We've heard from people who are concerned about this. We have several possible plaintiffs." Vice Mayor Peggy Bilsten commented, "I am willing to take this to court."

PPL director Toni Garvey, who had told LJ she hadn't recommended a policy change, was described as "visibly upset." She later issued a statement saying the library would comply with the council vote.

More than two months after the July 1 implementation of CIPA, many librarians still wonder whether staff PCs are covered by the law, noted Bob Bocher, technology consultant at Wisconsin's Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning and chair of the American Library Association's (ALA) E-Rate Task Force. Indeed they are; most librarians simply turn off the filter. Bocher noted that some libraries are using the least expensive filters on their staff PCs, or even using the free Content Advisor filter (which covers a limited subset of sites) available via Internet Explorer.

Some people on the task force expressed surprise that no organization like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has complained about overly harsh implementation of filters. Judith Krug, director of ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, told LJ that a quick response survey from 71 libraries of various sizes indicates that most are willing to turn off the filter quickly when asked by adults. "There are of course some notable exceptions to the rule."

Krug said one patron called her office, complaining that the librarian told him, "You have to tell me why you want me to disable the filter," and that the request would go to a committee that meets once a month. Krug called the library and was told, "That's our policy."

Does CIPA cover wireless access available to libraries? "I have had three different law firms in three different cities (and states) render the opinion that filtering patron laptops that are using E-rate Internet connections is a requirement of CIPA," noted consultant Jim Barrentine, on a library electronic mailing list.

Bocher noted that a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) attorney told the ALA Task Force that the law refers to the library's computers, not computers brought into the library. He noted, however, that the statement was unofficial, since the FCC has not issued any formal guidance.

A Honolulu man kicked out of the Hawaii State Library for accessing a gay-oriented web site has sued the governor and attorney general, charging that a new state law gives officials overbroad powers to ban people from public spaces. The lawsuit over Act 50, initially targeted toward homeless people, was filed by the ACLU of Hawaii on behalf of Carlos Hernandez and The Center, a Honolulu-based group that provides services and programs to the local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, and intersex communities.

Hernandez was banned because he accessed www.gayhawaii.com. A security guard issued a written warning banning him for one year because he was viewing a pornographic site, as stated in the lawsuit. According to the AP, the guard intervened because the web site contained photos of shirtless men.

"This law gives unbridled discretion to police and others to engage in arbitrary and capricious denials of protected expression," said state ACLU legal director Lois K. Perrin.