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Filtering internet access in public libraries

            Communities across America are debating whether or not internet access in Public libraries should be filtered to prevent minors from viewing pornography and other objectionable materials. Some citizens believe that having a blanket filter for all available computer terminals, and eliminating pornography in the library altogether, is the only way to protect their children from accessing obscene materials. Others believe that filtering the internet is a violation of their rights under the first amendment and should not be allowed. There is also the issue of the filtering software's inability to distinguish between pornography and sexually related topics, and hindering internet research by blocking sites with subject matter like sex education or help for rape victims.
             In this debate I would have to agree that internet access in the library should not be completely filtered. Not only is it a violation of the first amendment, but the filtering software that is available filters solely on key words and not content, which limits the amount of educational research a person can do. I don't believe every computer needs to be filtered in order to keep minors from being exposed to obscene material.
             In Loudon County Va., Patrons sued because the filtering software the library was using wouldn't allow them to access topics such as Breast Cancer and gay and lesbian rights. The judge ruled that the libraries could not block sexual material from the internet. The Judge in that case Leona Brinkema said that when libraries provide internet access to their patrons they may not violate the first amendment rights of the adults "just because the material is unfit for minors." The library discontinued the complete filtering system and now has unfiltered internet and parents of minors may choose filtering options for their children (www.yakima-herald .com).
             Closer to home, in Washington the Yakima County Public Library came under scrutiny from the city for its internet policy that made the parents responsible for monitoring their children's use of the resource.


Essays Related to Filtering internet access in public libraries

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... . Should all of this info be readily available to everybody that has internet access? Should little children have the right to surf the internet in safety without coming across pictures of male sexual organs and adult sex toys? In this essay I will introduce internet censorship. I will then list the pros and cons of censoring the internet and the groups behind those views. Finally I will provide my opinion ... available to young children, or should kids have the right to surf the net free of fear? An act has been passed requiring public libraries to filter content that may be harmful or ...

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2. Regulating the Internet

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5. Ethics

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6. Policing The Superhighway

... of expression was put in a primary position in the Bill of Rights because a self-governing people must be able to discuss all ideas regardless of how repulsive they might be" (McGaffey 35). The Constitution gives every American the freedom to express themselves as they wish and to state their beliefs as they wish. Filtering the Internet in public places is in direct violation of ... these freedoms articulated in the Constitution. By filtering out "damaging" material, you could also be filtering out perfectly good information only because it has a key word in it that it is not supposed to...

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8. Rap And Censorship

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