Supreme Court To Hear Challenge To Internet-Filter Law
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the constitutionality of a federal law that mandates public libraries receiving federal technology funds to block pornographic websites. The law in question is the Children’s Internet Protection Act of 2000 (CIPA), which also applies to schools that receive federal technology funding. However, the case currently before the Supreme Court does not challenge the law in terms of computers in classrooms or school libraries. Public and private schools receiving federal technology funds must implement plans that include the installation of blocking software to protect children from sexually explicit websites.
A special three-judge federal trial court in Philadelphia ruled on May 31 that the law was invalid when applied to public libraries. The court unanimously concluded that the statute violated the free speech rights of library patrons under the First Amendment, as software-filtering programs often block websites containing protected speech. The court determined that there are alternative, less restrictive methods for libraries to prevent access to prohibited content under CIPA, such as obscenity, child pornography, and other material that may be considered harmful to minors but acceptable for adults.
Congress has authorized an expedited review for this law, and the Bush administration has appealed the decision of the three-judge panel directly to the Supreme Court in the case of United States v. American Library Association (Case No. 02-361). The appeal, signed by Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson, argues that the district court’s decision hinders Congress’ efforts to ensure that federal assistance provided to libraries for internet access does not facilitate access to illegal and harmful pornography.
Mr. Olson further contends that just as a library chooses which books and magazines to include in its collection, it can also decide to restrict access to the internet. The American Library Association has challenged the law on behalf of public libraries and patrons. They argue that CIPA infringes upon the First Amendment and restricts access to the internet within one of the most democratic and speech-enhancing institutions in America, the public library.
The Supreme Court announced on November 12 that it will hear this case. Oral arguments are expected to take place early next year, and a decision is anticipated by the end of the court’s term in June. In recent years, the justices have examined various laws aimed at protecting children from sexually explicit material online. In 1997, the court struck down the Communications Decency Act, Congress’ initial attempt to regulate internet pornography. Last term, the court issued a divided ruling on the Child Online Protection Act, upholding parts of the law but remanding it to a lower court for further review. COPA is a general law that criminalizes the provision of sexually explicit material to minors on commercial websites.
