The 3rd District US Court of Pennsylvania ruled that the law,
which required public libraries to filter web content, violated the
First Amendment right of free speech.
The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) came into effect
in the US on 20th April 2001, intended to protect minors from
access to internet pornography. It obliges schools and public
libraries where more than one computer is connected to the internet
to use filtering software blocking images defined as "obscene",
"child pornography" or otherwise "harmful to minors."
The law also requires adults to get permission to access such
material. Libraries which fail to comply are barred from receiving
federal funds.
After the law was enacted, the American Library Association and
the American Civil Liberties Union sued the federal government
claiming that the law violated consitutional provisions of free
speech. The Pennsylvania District Court accepted their arguments
and ruled that CIPA was "invalid" under the First Amendment.
The court also found that CIPA could not be enforced anyway,
reasoning that "because of the inherent limitations in filtering
technology, public libraries can never comply... without blocking
access to a substantial amount of speech."
The Justice Department appealed the ruling. The Supreme Court
will hear oral arguments in spring 2003.
CIPA can be found at:
www.filteringinfo.org/pdf/001218cipa.pdf
