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OPG, Seth Finkelstein, Submit CIPA Amicus
Posted by James Grimmelmann on Monday, February 10 @ 08:32:06 EST
Contributed by Seth_Finkelstein
Civil Liberties
Seth_Finkelstein writes "The Online Policy Group (OPG) and I have submitted a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court supporting a lower court decision that the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) places unconstitutional limitations on free speech of library patrons by requiring the use of technology protection measures in libraries receiving certain federal funding or discounts.

The brief argues that CIPA's technology protection requirement forces libraries to use commercial blocking software. Because blocking software censors speech that receives full First Amendment protection and may discriminate against certain viewpoints, we argue that CIPA should be subject to strict scrutiny.

In the words of OPG Executive Director Will Doherty, "By using commercial Internet blocking software to comply with CIPA, libraries force the political, social, and cultural biases of software manufacturers with differing community standards onto library patrons in their own communities. Especially for 'controversial' topics -- such as politics, medical health, child abuse, abortion, sexual orientation, and gender identity -- the biases inherent in Internet blocking software are unacceptable." "

 
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