Nov 13, 2002 3 min read

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide if public libraries that receive federal funds can be forced to install software that blocks sexually explicit Web sites. This is the third attempt by Congress aimed at protecting children from Internet porn sites that is destined to fail. The problem is that a filter has yet to be invented that can adequately substitute for the watchful eye of an adult without blocking health, science and other nonpornographic sites.

Congress, having twice been burned on similar laws, knew this one, called the Children’s Internet Protection Act, would also be challenged and directed any appeals to go straight to the Supreme Court following a trial before a three-judge panel. The American Library Association and the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the law and a federal panel seated in Philadelphia ruled it unconstitutional. The Supremes are expected to affirm this decision.

So where does that leave the mix of Internet porn, libraries and children’s access? The same place that materials unsuitable to children have always been. Libraries have always been full of books, periodicals and artwork that some would consider sexually explicit and titillating.

Adolescents in particular have always found something to pass around to their friends, to huddle behind shelves or to hide within the bindings of a respectable book. Watchful librarians, parents and teachers have been equally adept at spotting this and not believing for one moment that a seventh-grader is researching the most frequently grown crop of on the sub-African continent in a National Geographic magazine.

That kind of sneakiness by kids takes timing. Hitting Internet porn sites does not. Access is nearly instantaneous and sometimes kids stumble onto vulgar sites in error. But blocking everything and anything that might mention for example the word “breast” (thereby cutting out information on breast cancer) isn’t the answer.

Libraries have always recognized that children and teens need steered to sections of appropriate material and many have created rooms that are age appropriated. Some libraries already require parental consent forms before kids can use unfiltered computers or require that parents be present. These are reasonable measures. Libraries could also set up child-friendly computers with blocking software for kids to use and leave other terminals free from this encumbrance.

Librarians, parents and teachers can work together to police computer usage and set up procedures that will work in their communities. They don’t need a federal law forcing them to adopt a one-size fits all policy.