The debate against porn filters in libraries is very much in effect for one Arizona county. The decision on whether to filter adult content from all public library computers has been sent to a yet-to-be created ad hoc committee with no timetable for making a recommendation, reports the Arizona Daily Star.
After viewing TV footage of people viewing pornography on library computers, Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll pushed for the county to filter all computers. Carroll’s motion failed for lack of a second, and he voted against sending it to the committee, calling it an attempt to “kill the issue.”
A majority of supervisors said they want to defer to the expertise of librarians, First Amendment lawyers, and law enforcement.
In the meantime, the county plans to spend $40,000 on privacy screens to prevent passers-by from seeing what computer users are looking at. According to the Star, Library Director Nancy Ledeboer said that was her preferred solution.
As of July 1, the county runs the regional library system, and the Board of Supervisors is also the library’s Board of Directors, with the power to set policy.
The Child Internet Protection Act states that libraries that accept discounted rates for their Internet access—including the Tucson-Pima Public Library—must filter Internet access to block obscenity and child pornography.
The law has been challenged by the American Library Association and other groups, and the Supreme Court upheld it, provided adults can get access to any material that is not illegal.
After looking at that decision and other case law related to restricting pornography, the county attorney’s opinion gave the supervisors four options: keep the existing policy but add protections like privacy screens and recessed monitors; filter all computers all the time and remove the filter only if specifically requested; block all access to pornography and sexually explicit material based on evidence of “secondary effects”; or provide access only to sites that meet the same criteria applied to print materials.
Adults can choose whether or not to filter, but all adults must comply with the Internet-use policy, which prohibits viewing obscene material, child pornography, and material considered harmful to minors. All computers used by children have filters.
