SCN: internet filitering law

[Doug Schuler]

>From Eron Lloyd in Pennsylvania...

Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2000 20:27:36 -0400
From: Eron Lloyd <woodsage at op.net>
To: srjacobs at marauder.millersville.edu
CC: luren at reading.lib.pa.us, sandblade at lancaster.lib.pa.us, douglas at scn.org,
        kathleen at talon.net
Subject: [Fwd: Internet Filtering]

Hello to all. There is a proposal in the Senate possibly going to be
voted on in a week or so. More information on it can be found at
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=00/10/16/1748204&mode=thread

This is BAD. I myself responded by posting the included message below.
I encourage you all to do as well. This is just a sidestep of rules in
place to limit the Federal influence on state agendas, not to mention
an infringement on the First Amendment. Use the link below to get to
the proper page - Santorum is the target. Look for the "Internet
Filtering" selection on the page (near the middle). Speak your mind.

http://congress.nw.dc.us/cgi-bin/message_director.pl?dir=gr&mailaddress0=pajr

> Dear Mr. Santorum,
>
> There has been several discussions about your position on Internet filtering in
> public facilties, namely Libraries and Schools. I understand that you may be
> only reacting to the enormous amount of concern citizens have expressed over
> this issue. However, I believe that a simple solution like filtering software
> is NOT going to be able to produce satisfactory results. Instead, this
> software, which has been proven constantly to be ineffective and very
> inaccurate, may only serve to cripple the right of youth to use the Internet as
> a tool of freedom - freedom to collect and distribute information, and freedom
> to exchange and explorer alternative opinions. This is to many an outcry of
> Constitutional injustice, and would be fought by many much concerned with the
> protection of First Amendment rights. As well, it takes power away from
> libraries (one of which I happen to work for) and puts that power in the hands
> of "software companies", who will ultimately decide what is "appropriate".
> Better library and school Internet policies and technology education, not
> restrictive information regulations, is the only way to manage a situation such
> as this. Issues like these do not only effect the user at a library terminal
> that cannot access some vital information because of badly configured filtering
> software that the staff does not know how to manage, but also the very core of
> the right to public information, as unconventional and unpopular as it may be.
> We must remember that even the Bible, which many see as the greatest book of
> all time, has been banned in societies in our history's past. Please think
> seriously about the repercussions this law could generate, and decide if the
> results will be worth the guaranteed ineffectiveness of this policy in
> protecting the public. The enemy is not always what you think it is.
>
> Thank you for your time,
>
> Eron Lloyd


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