Media Release: Public Information Campaign Announced to Free Schools and Libraries from Blocking Technologies
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
San Francisco - January 23, 2001
A network of concerned organizations and prominent individuals today released
a joint statement opposing legislative requirements for school and library
Internet blocking technologies.
The statement came in response to legislation, signed into law as part of an
omnibus appropriations bill on December 21, 2000, which requires all public
schools and libraries participating in certain federal programs to install
Internet blocking technologies. The U.S. Congress passed the blocking
requirement contrary to the recommendations of a commission studying the
technology that was established as part of the earlier Child Online Protection
Act legislation.
Endorsers of the joint statement urged parents, teachers, librarians, and
administrators to adopt educational methods that assist young people in
learning to use the Internet safely and effectively to enhance their
education. The joint statement also expressed support for legal challenges
such as those recently announced by the ACLU, the American Library
Association, and People for the American Way Foundation.
In addition to researching and publishing educational materials on blocking
technologies for parents, teachers, librarians, administrators, and the
general public, organizations participating in the statement are collecting
reports on the use of filtering and blocking technologies in schools and
libraries. The network will communicate through email lists set up
particularly for discussion of school and library blocking technology issues.
Will Doherty, Executive Director of the Online Policy Group, said, "We have
joined together to oppose Internet blocking requirements because the
technology underblocks what it is supposed to filter, overblocks what it is
not supposed to block, relies on subjective 'expert' control, rather than on
local community standards, is error-prone, vulnerable, problematic, and
unfairly discriminatory, denying access to constitutionally protected and
educationally important materials that schools and libraries would otherwise
provide."
Ralph G. Neas, president of People For the American Way Foundation, added, "We
believe government-mandated censorship does not solve problems better handled
through local decision-making and educational efforts and we have committed to
sharing effective strategies to assist young people in learning to use the
Internet safely and effectively to enhance their education."
The ACLU noted that many people who use libraries for Internet access are
those not rich enough to own a home computer. "The blocking software law has
a discriminatory effect on communities of color, whose use of library
computers to access the Internet is central to bridging the 'digital
divide,'" said Ann Beeson, an ACLU staff attorney.
Endorsers of the statement include the American Civil Liberties Union,
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, the Electronic Frontier
Foundation, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the First Amendment
Project, NetAction, the Online Policy Group, Peacefire, People for the
American Way Foundation, and other individuals and organizations.
Organizations and individuals who wish to add their endorsement to the joint
statement and participate in networking efforts opposed to school and library
Internet blocking legislation may email statement@onlinepolicy.org for more
information.
A copy of the joint statement, and other related resources, is available at
http://www.onlinepolicy.org/about/network/statement.shtml
Contact:
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Emily Whitfield, American Civil Liberties Union
-
212-549-2566,
ewhitfield@aclu.org
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Karen Coyle, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
-
510-987-0567,
kcoyle@kcoyle.net
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Shari Steele, Electronic Frontier Foundation
-
415-436-9333 x103,
ssteele@eff.org
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David Greene, First Amendment Project
-
510-208-7744,
dgreene@thefirstamendment.org
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Will Doherty, Online Policy Group
-
415-826-3532,
doherty@onlinepolicy.org
-
Bennett Haselton, Peacefire
-
425-649-9024,
bennett@peacefire.org
-
Nancy Coleman or Melissa Dorfman, People for the American Way Foundation,
Media Relations
-
202-467-4999,
ncoleman@pfaw.org or
mdorfman@pfaw.org
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