Why not let the majority's morality and taste dictate what others can look at or listen to? The answer is simple, and timeless: a free society is based on the principle that each and every individual has the right to decide what art or entertainment he or she wants -- or does not want -- to receive or create. Once you allow the government to censor someone else, you cede to it the the power to censor you, or something you like.
Censorship is like poison gas: a powerful weapon that can harm you when the wind shifts. American Civil Liberties Union , which held that internet speech is entitled to full First Amendment protection.
Those are just a few examples. Every year, the ACLU marks Banned Books Week, an annual event that celebrates the freedom to read and calls attention to the wealth of creative expression that is stifled when books can be forbidden from library shelves. We believe in an educated citizenry and a society where ideas are openly disseminated, discussed, and debated.
And throughout our history, we have worked to protect the right to access information and the right to make up your own mind. Jump to navigation Skip navigation. What Kind of Speech is Being Blocked? The Internet is rapidly becoming an essential tool for learning and communication. But the dream of universal Internet access will remain only a dream if politicians force libraries and other institutions to use blocking software whenever patrons log on.
This special report by the American Civil Liberties Union provides an in depth look at why mandatory blocking software is both inappropriate and unconstitutional in libraries. We do not evaluate any particular product, but rather seek to demonstrate how all blocking software censors valuable speech and gives librarians, educators and parents a false sense of security when providing minors with Internet access. In that report, we offered a set of guidelines for Internet Service Providers and other industry groups contemplating ratings schemes.
Similarly, in Censorship in a Box, we offer a set of guidelines for libraries and schools looking for alternatives to clumsy and ineffective blocking software:. Taken together, these approaches work much better than restrictive software that teaches no critical thinking skills and works only when students are using school or library computers.
Like any technology, blocking software can be used for constructive or destructive purposes. In the hands of parents and others who voluntarily use it, it is a tool that can be somewhat useful in blocking access to some inappropriate material online. But in the hands of government, blocking software is nothing more than censorship in a box.
In libraries and schools across the nation, the Internet is rapidly becoming an essential tool for learning and communication. According to the American Library Association, of the nearly 9, public libraries in America, And a recent survey of 1, teachers revealed that almost half use the Internet as a teaching tool. But today, unfettered access to the Internet is being threatened by the proliferation of blocking software in libraries.
America's libraries have always been a great equalizer, providing books and other information resources to help people of all ages and backgrounds live, learn, work and govern in a democratic society. Today more than ever, our nation's libraries are vibrant multi-cultural institutions that connect people in the smallest and most remote communities with global information resources.
Department of Commerce concluded that "public libraries can play a vital role in assuring that advanced information services are universally available to all segments of the American population on an equitable basis.
Just as libraries traditionally made available the marvels and imagination of the human mind to all, libraries of the future are planning to allow everyone to participate in the electronic renaissance. Today, the dream of universal access will remain only a dream if politicians force libraries and other institutions to use blocking software whenever patrons access the Internet. Blocking software prevents users from accessing a wide range of valuable information, including such topics as art, literature, women's health, politics, religion and free speech.
Without free and unfettered access to the Internet, this exciting new medium could become, for many Americans, little more than a souped-up, G-rated television network. We do not offer an opinion about any particular blocking product, but we will demonstrate how all blocking software censors valuable speech and gives librarians, educators and parents a false sense of security when providing minors with Internet access.
The ACLU believes that government has a necessary role to play in promoting universal Internet access. But that role should focus on expanding, not restricting, access to online speech. Our vision of an uncensored Internet was clearly shared by the U. Supreme Court when it struck down the Communications Decency Act CDA , a federal law that outlawed "indecent" communications online.
Ruling unanimously in Reno v. ACLU, the Court declared the Internet to be a free speech zone, deserving of at least as much First Amendment protection as that afforded to books, newspapers and magazines. The government, the Court said, can no more restrict a person's access to words or images on the Internet than it could be allowed to snatch a book out of a reader's hands in the library, or cover over a statue of a nude in a museum.
The nine Justices were clearly persuaded by the unique nature of the medium itself, citing with approval the lower federal court's conclusion that the Internet is "the most participatory form of mass speech yet developed," entitled to "the highest protection from governmental intrusion.
In striking down the CDA on constitutional grounds, the Supreme Court emphasized that if a statute burdens adult speech--as any censorship law must-- it "is unacceptable if less restrictive alternatives were available. Commenting on the availability of user-based blocking software as a possible alternative, the Court concluded that the use of such software was appropriate for parents. Blocking software, the Court wrote, is a "reasonably effective method by which parents can prevent their children from accessing material which the parents believe is inappropriate.
The rest of the Court's decision firmly holds that government censorship of the Internet violates the First Amendment, and that holding applies to government use of blocking software just as it applied when the Court struck down the CDA's criminal ban. In the months since that ruling, the blocking software market has experienced explosive growth, as parents exercise their prerogative to guide their childrens' Internet experience.
An increasing number of city and county library boards have recently forced libraries to install blocking programs, over the objections of the American Library Association and library patrons, and the use of blocking software in libraries is fast becoming the biggest free speech controversy since the legal challenge to the CDA. The best known Internet platform is the World Wide Web, which allows users to search for and retrieve information stored in remote computers.
The Web currently contains over million documents, with thousands added each day. Because of the ease with which material can be added and manipulated, the content on existing Web sites is constantly changing.
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