Libraries + the Internet in the USA
Submitted by Splash! on 2002-07-4 02:18:20, Thursday
In reply to Libraries submitted by Metro on 2002-07-3 07:25:42, Wednesday
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Most libraries don't have filtering on their computers in the USA, and when they do, it's not strict filtering -- it's mostly filtering of "obscene" violence and "hardcore" porn. Some libraries require parental permission for children, but recently the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was voted down by Congress which states that libraries which do not filter ALL their computers will not get federal aid. Politicians argue that filters often keep the public from accessing legitimate sites and that no filter is perfect. Currently, California and Arizona have NO filtering whatsoever on the Internet stations in their libraries -- even children can access anything. There may be a county here and there in those states that are an exception. Most libraries have a privacy policy where they do not police the use of the Internet by their patrons. Anything goes. And so far, libraries do not allow law enforcement to access ANY information about their patrons' use of the library without a court order. Though, in the USA, the FBI is provided a "backdoor" of sorts into any communications technology (even moreso with the recent passing of the Patriot Act in response to terrorist threats and attacks), but this is tough when it comes to libraries since several dozen people might be using the same computer in a single day. However, the FBI has been able to follow and capture criminals by tracking WHERE and in what libraries they access their e-mail accounts. In the USA, restrictions on chatrooms are mostly because one would have to download software or a plugin onto a computer (e.g. Yahoo chat) to make the chatroom work, and any kind of downloading off the Internet provides an opportunity for a virus to find its way onto the computer. Also, I believe there are some security issues with Java and telnet. A library system that has a hundred computers is not willing to create that much work for themselves (cleaning viruses, restoring hard drives, deleting files, etc) so instead they restrict downloading anything. Libraries tend to want to focus most of their energy on books and other fiber-based forms of information. Internet porn doesn't create much of a problem for libraries as long as they put "privacy screens" on the computers and place the computers in a location where people are not able to walk by or stand behind someone surfing the Internet. My only REAL concern about having the Internet in libraries is making it easily accessible to children without parental permission. In the USA, children cannot walk into a rated-R movie without an adult, so why should libraries allow children access to XXX websites without adult supervision? Or should we start rating our libraries like we rate our movies? There's tons of debate about ALL these issues. I stop here. I only provided this much for informational reasons. Splash |
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