ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 8, Number 74 July 22, 1999 In this issue: Rep. Istook Reintroduces Measure to Require Filtering; Action Needed by Library Advocates During August Recess On July 20 Rep. Ernest Istook, Jr. (R-OK) introduced H.R. 2560, the Child Protection Act of 1999. The bill would require schools and public libraries--as a condition of receiving federal funds from any federal agency for the acquisition or operation of computers--to install filters to protect children from obscenity and child pornography. The bill is similar to the amendment Rep. Istook offered last year to the FY99 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill. While the amendment was approved by appropriators, it was dropped later in the legislative process. H.R. 2560 would require any elementary school, secondary school or public library receiving federal funds for the acquisition or operation of computers accessible to minors and with access to the Internet to: (1) install software "adequately designed to prevent minors from obtaining access to any obscene information or child pornography using that computer"; and (2)"ensure that such software is operational whenever that computer is used by minors, except that such software's operation may be temporarily interrupted to permit a minor to have access to information that is not obscene, is not child pornography, or is otherwise unprotected by the Constitution under the direct supervision of an adult designated by such school or library." Determination as to whether such software is "adequately designed" for this purpose would be made by a state agency or official designated by the chief executive officer of the state. Noncompliance may result in the withholding of further federal payments, or a cease and desist order. In his introductory remarks Rep. Istook explained that: "Because the filters are not yet perfect, and might inadvertently block non-obscene websites, the provision allow access to other sites with the assistance of an adult. The filter can be turned off with a password, for example, for that one session; the filters routinely turn back on automatically after that user exits the Internet. The filter software is required only for computers to which minors have access, so, for example, it would not restrict a teacher's computer in their personal office, or any computer in a strictly-adult section of a library." He also included a June 7 letter from an attorney for the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress, who responded to Rep. Istook's request for an opinion about the constitutionality of the bill. The CRS attorney concluded--based on certain assumptions about the bill and its implementation--that blocking URLs containing obscenity and child pornography is constitutional. H.R. 2560 would be a significant intrusion into local school and library content decisions. It also raises issues of technological feasibility, privacy of users, and local and state liability. There would also be administrative and cost burdens on libraries and schools, on state agencies, and on the administration of many federal programs. The bill would apply not only to library and education programs, but to a broad range of grant and partnership programs from a variety of federal agencies in which libraries and schools are involved with other entities. It appears the bill was introduced so that it could be offered when the House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee meets to make FY2000 funding recommendations. This markup was originally scheduled for June 21. The markup was postponed the same day, most likely until September. The text of H.R. 2560 is available at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c106:h.r.2560: Rep. Istook's introductory comments and the CRS opinion are available at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r106:E20JY9-153: and then click "full display." ACTION NEEDED: Library advocates have an opportunity during the upcoming congressional recess (August 9 - September 7) to invite Representatives and Senators into libraries to see local Internet services firsthand. If members know from personal experience that their local libraries develop policies thoughtfully and responsibly and with community input, they are much less likely to impose a federal mandate. Suggestions for Visit: * Provide congressional members with an opportunity to understand why users need and value Internet access. * Show them any especially helpful Web sites the library highlights. * Tell them about the library's Internet use policy and how it was developed. * Talk with them about how the library handles children's access to the Internet. This is helpful with any member of Congress, as the House recently passed the Franks/Pickering amendment and a Senate committee approved S.97, the Children's Online Protection Act (see http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon/alwn8063.html and http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon/alwn8065.html ). The Children's Online Protection Act is currently pending in the Senate. Contact is especially important for constituents of House Labor- HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee members who will most likely consider H.R. 2560, Rep. Istook's bill, in September. (For a list of Subcommittee members see http://www.house.gov/appropriations/sub.htm ) The ALA Washington Office would find it helpful to know about congressional visits to your library. If a visit is not feasible, urge members while they are at home to reject inappropriate federal filtering requirements, and to respect the thoughtful and responsible local school and library decision-making on issues of children and the Internet. You can also use the ALA Legislative Action Center's sample letter, "Respect Local Decision-Making on Internet Access Policies" at http://congress.nw.dc.us/ala/elecmail.html ****** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. 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