The American Library Association submits the following comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, for their study of the effectiveness of Internet filtering in educational institutions, as required by the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA).
The American Library Association, founded in 1876, is the oldest and largest library association in the world. ALA includes members from all types of libraries including school, public, state, academic, and special libraries. With a membership of more than 64,000 librarians, library trustees, library educators, friends of libraries and other interested persons from every state, ALA is the chief advocate for the people of the United States in their search for the highest quality library and information services.
On behalf of our members, the ALA wishes to make two key points related to the effectiveness of Internet filtering and other ways of ensuring that children have safe, educational, and age-appropriate online experiences. The first point is that in a library context, these tools are not effective and violate the First Amendment. The second point is that America's libraries are successfully engaged in providing educational programs for users, regardless of age, that are designed to help them have safe, educational, and age-appropriate experiences. In addition, we have included both links to supporting documents and an appendix of documents that support and illustrate these points.
The concept of the "effectiveness" of blocking and filtering technologies is highly dependant on context. While Internet filtering and blocking may be an effective tool for some families, it is not an effective tool in libraries. Families may select a filtering tool that aligns with their values; by contrast, libraries must serve children and adults throughout a community and represent a range of values. No filtering tool exists which can be perfectly calibrated to block out only material that is not protected by the Constitution, without blocking access to material that has constitutional protection.
The fact that filtering tools are simply unable to meet the constitutional requirements of libraries is well settled. In support of this statement, we refer to the court decisions in American Library Association et al v United States, Docket Nos. 01-1303 and 01-1322, challenging CIPA, and in Mainstream Loudoun v Board of Trustees of the Loudoun County Library, 24 F.Supp.2d 522 (E.D. Va. 1998). In addition, we attach the briefs we filed in ALA v Ashcroft, which further articulate this point.
A number of experts from different disciplines confirm this view. For example, we include links to the expert report of ALA v Ashcroft expert witness Ben Edelman, an article by expert witness Dr. Geoffrey Nunberg, and expert witness Christopher Hunter's M.A. thesis on the effectiveness of various Internet filtering products. Their views are neither new nor unusual. Karen Schneider, Assistant Director for Technology of the Shenendehowa, NY, Public Library testified before the Children's Online Protection Act (COPA) Commission on July 20, 2000, and articulated many of the same points. In 1997, Ms. Schneider wrote the book, "A Practical Guide to Internet Filters," which also described the ineffectiveness of various Internet filtering products in a library context. A link to Ms. Schneider's testimony before the COPA Commission is included.
III.LIBRARIES THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES ARE ENGAGED IN EFFECTIVE, LESS RESTRICTIVE ALTERNATIVES TO FILTERING, AND LIBRARY USERS HAVE SAFE, FUN, EDUCATIONAL, AND AGE-APPROPRIATE EXPERIENCES USING THE INTERNET.
The American Library Association, and the libraries in which its members serve, have developed innumerable local programs to help library users, especially children, have safe, fun, educational, and age-appropriate experiences using the Internet.
Libraries and the Internet Toolkit: Tips and Guidance for Managing and Communicating About the Internet.
Assistance developing "Acceptable Use" policies � more than 95% of libraries now have such policies in place.
700 Great Sites for Kids, a collection of web sites compiled by the Children and Technology Committee of the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, and updated by the Great Sites Committee.
GetNetWise � ALA worked closely with Internet industry corporations and other non-profit organizations to launch the family-oriented Internet safety resource which still provides more than 100,000 unique visitors every month with safety tips, assistance in reporting online trouble, and web site recommendations. This resource also helps families determine whether or not they want to use Internet filtering or other technology protection tools in their own homes, and if so, which tools best fit their values and concerns.
ICONnect � The ALA�s ICONnect, including both the KidsConnect and FamiliesConnect projects, has been a great resource for kids, families, teachers and librarians for several years. It offers e-mail-based classes that take place over the course of a month.
@yourlibrary � In June 2001, the ALA launched a new public education web site called @yourlibrary. It includes education for parents about how their children can and should use the library, tips for Internet safety at the library and at home, suggested web sites for children, teens, parents, and even senior citizens.
Former ALA President Candace Morgan testified before the Senate Commerce Committee on the practices of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library on March 4, 1999. Her library offers adult users and the parents of minor users the choice between unfiltered Internet access, filtered Internet access, or the use of filtered Internet search engines.
Carolyn Caywood testified before the House Committee on Commerce, Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet on April 4, 2001. She described the practices of the City of Virginia Beach Public Library, which uses "yes-list only" filters on computers in the children's room, and in the main library offers one computer equipped with commercial Internet filtering software and five computers, separated by privacy screens, offering unfiltered Internet access.
Audra Caplan testified before the Congressional Children's Caucus on July 26, 2001. Ms. Caplan described the multi-faceted approach to Internet safety and information literacy for both children and adults taken by the Harford County, Maryland public library. She also described educational programs developed by other public libraries and the ALA.
We appreciate the efforts of the NTIA to study the effectiveness of Internet filtering and blocking tools in educational institutions, and are confident that a close examination of this subject will lead to the same conclusion reached by the COPA Commission, the National Academies, and every court to have considered the question: Filtering and blocking technology is not an effective tool in a library. Mandating the use of filtering and blocking technology in a library violates the First Amendment rights of library users. Further, libraries are actively engaged in effective, less restrictive, means of helping Internet users to have safe, educational, and age-appropriate experiences using the Internet.