LibraryLaw Blog

New legislation to make libraries and schools block MySpace - House bill introduced Feb. 16th

In case you thought DOPA was too outrageous to get traction, think again.  Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced a DOPA companion bill in the House HR 1120 that already has 12 cosponsors.

Yes, we all want to Delete Online Predators (DOP-A). 

But why stop at blocking social networking websites?  While we're at it, let's not allow kids use their email accounts at the library. Or adults, since they could be the bad guys.  Yeah - no email.  And people shouldn't really look up information on the web, either. They could be up to no good. Let's watch what they're looking at, to find out. That would sure cut down on demand for library terminals, a win-win! No more lines.

MySpace and libraries fate now in Senate Committee

More bad news for libraries.  According to THOMAS, the latest iteration of DOPA is b-a-a-ack.  That's the bill that would require libraries and schools with erate to block MySpace etc.

DOPA (Deleting Online Predators Act) is now part of S 49, Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act introduced by Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) Jan. 4, 2007.  It's now in referral to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

It's time to contact your senator if he or she is on this committee.  Last year, it sailed through the House, but didn't make it to the Senate. 

Commitee Members:

Democrats
 
Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (HI)
John D. Rockefeller (WV)
John F. Kerry (MA)
Byron L. Dorgan (ND)
Barbara Boxer (CA)
Bill Nelson (FL)
Maria Cantwell (WA)
Frank R. Lautenberg (NJ)
Mark Pryor (AR)
Thomas Carper (DE)
Claire McCaskill (MO)
Amy Klobuchar (MN)

Republicans
Co-Chairman Ted Stevens (AK)
John McCain (AZ)
Trent Lott (MS)
Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX)
Olympia J. Snowe (ME)
Gordon H. Smith (OR)
John Ensign (NV)
John E. Sununu (NH)
Jim DeMint (SC)
David Vitter (LA)
John Thune (SD)


For full text of current DOPA, see below:

Great insights on the death of DOPA

Really informative behind-the-scenes look at why the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA) died "on the vine" last session, by Andy Carvin at PBS TeacherSource Dec. 29, 2006.   Hat tip to Jonathan Kelley for directing me to it. 

A comment there by Don Wood points to lots of good resources on MySpace, Libraries, DOPA et al. such as an ALA Wiki and Podcast.

For California library folks - free webcast update on internet policy issues in the post-CIPA environment.

Hope to see you there!

Internet, CIPA, and Sexual Harassment, an Infopeople webcast Thurs Sept. 7 at Noon

It's been three years since the Supreme Court upheld the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which requires libraries with certain federal aid to "protect against access" to visual depictions of child pornography, obscenity, and material "harmful to minors". Should the library block MySpace? This webcast will fill you in on important post-CIPA developments that may affect your library's Internet use policies - including what the courts have said about the clash between the public's rights of free speech and employee rights to be free from sexual harassment.

This is why blogs are useful to blog writers

... because we can ask readers for help and ideas. 

I used this blogspace to ask for help when I was preparing a webcast about libraries and homeless users. I got some really great responses, especially from John Gehner, Coordinator of the Hunger, Homelessness & Poverty Task Force (ALA-SRRT).  That helped me realize the power of blogging.  It's you, the reader.

Now it can be your turn to help me prepare my next webcast :>  It'll be on Sept. 7th for Infopeople, on the Internet, CIPA, and Sexual Harassment.

Does anyone have thoughts, great sources, lawsuits, important questions that I should focus on wrt the the Internet, sexual harassment, DOPA and libraries?

And while you're here, is there someone who can tell me if I can use flickr-like tags in addition to categories on Typepad?  I would love to have that freedom (if it's easy!)

The Sept 7th webcast description is below:

It's been three years since the Supreme Court upheld the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which requires libraries with certain federal aid to "protect against access" to visual depictions of child pornography, obscenity, and material "harmful to minors". Should the library block MySpace? This webcast will fill you in on important post-CIPA developments that may affect your library's Internet use policies - including what the courts have said about the clash between the public's rights of free speech and employee rights to be free from sexual harassment.

Urgent action needed re DOPA

From Beth Yoke:

URGENT Action Needed: The ALA Washington Office has learned that the US House of Representatives may try to expedite passage of H.R. 5319, the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA), TOMORROW, July 26th.  The bill is moving forward as is, with no changes to the original language.

PLEASE CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE'S OFFICE TODAY and ask that he/she oppose HR 5319. The Capitol Switchboard number is: 202-224-3121.

To find out who your Representative in the House is, go here:
http://www.house.gov/zip/ZIP2Rep.html

To learn more about DOPA, please go here:
http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/washnews/2006ndx/073jul25.htm

(adapted from ALAWON Vol. 15 No. 73 )

Thank you for your efforts to ensure that all library users will continue to have access to critical Internet resources via library and school computers! 

Beth Yoke
Executive Director
Young Adult Library Services Association,

Answering a few questions about DOPA and libraries

Here's a three-question interview with Beth Yoke, who testified before Congress today on behalf of libraries.  Beth is the Executive Director, Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), American Library Association.

You can see a video of yesterday's hearing on DOPA [Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006] before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, July 11, 2006.  You need Real Player and a high speed connection.  Beth speaks at about 1 hr 27 min  into the 2 1/2 hour recording.  More on DOPA here.

Minow: How would you describe the atmosphere at the hearing?

Yoke: I would describe the atmosphere at the hearing as one of fear.  So much of the talk was about how there are untold numbers of would-be murders out there just waiting to snare our children via chat rooms and other Internet sites.

Minow: What is the central issue for libraries?

Yoke: The central issue for libraries regarding DOPA is education.  Libraries need to ramp up their efforts to provide Internet & information literacy education and safety programs for kids, teens, parents and caregivers.  If people were more well informed about what social networking sites are and knew & used basic Internet safety tips, this cloud of fear may disperse.  Also, if library users were more well informed about the far reaching effects DOPA may have on their personal lives if passed, then they may be more willing to join librarians in the fight against it.

Minow: What actions do you recommend that library folks take?

Yoke: Librarians and library workers should contact their representives in the House by phone or fax.  They should share with them: 1) positive examples of how social networking sites are used safely for both educational and recreational purposes, 2) information about what their library is doing to teach kids & parents information literacy and internet safety skills.  Librarians and library workers should also encourage kids, teens and parents to contact their House representatives and tell them personal stories about how they have benefitted from having free Internet access in their libraries and how social networking sites may have enhanced their lives.  Librarians and library workers also need to educate the public about the vital role they play in helping people use the Internet effectively and safely.

That's my 2 cents.

-Beth

-----------------------------------------------

Beth attached her written and oral testimony, as well as a YALSA document on social networking sites and libraries that ALA submitted as part of the official records.

DOPA Submitted Testimony by Beth Yoke, YALSA

DOPA Oral Testimony by Beth Yoke, YALSA

YALSA-Teens and Social Networking in the School and Public Library

------------------------------------

Note: Patrick Murphy, Democratic opponent to DOPA's Michael Fitzpatrick, has developed an alternative to DOPA.  Murphy's blog today says that teachers, law enforcement officials, parents and librarians joined to endorse his "Murphy Plan for Online Protection" or MOPA.  See continuation for full text of MOPA.

Action against DOPA (legislation to add myspace etc. to the Children's Internet Protection Act)

DOPA, Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006, (HR 5319) has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.

Take a look to see if your legislator is on the Subcommittee and if so drop him/her an email/fax/letter today. Mine is - see my letter below.

Even though I believe the law is blatantly unconstitutional, that doesn't mean it won't get passed.  As of today there are already 21 cosponsors.

The slippery slope has slipped - new legislation to block more MySpace et al at libraries and schools

CIPA, the Children's Internet Protection Act, now has a slippery little brother. Its name is DOPA, the Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006, proposed by Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick. I'll grant that there's a compelling state interest in fighting online predators.  And I wish someone could shake myspacers silly until they realized that revealing their innermost secrets online is not only dumb but dangerous.  But I don't see how legislation could be crafted narrowly enough to keep out online predators without trampling on everyone else's free speech. 

The proposed legislation (at least the version I see on politechbot) allows adult-supervised use.  But children still have some free speech rights - we're not talking about legally prohibited speech here, as we were in the CIPA case.   I don't see how such legislation could pass constitutional muster. 

update:  The bill is H.R. 5319 and should be in Thomas soon.  Also, be sure to read Henry's analysis below - very helpful.

How many states have library Internet filtering laws?

I just read in ALA News that Iowa has a new bill tying state funding to library filters.  Does your state have a library filtering law? According to Pam Greenberg's chart at the National Conference of State Legislatures, 15 states do.  She posts an easy to read chart with summaries of the state law requirements, and links to the statutes themselves.

For example, California requires public libraries that receive state funds to adopt a policy regarding access by minors to the Internet, but there aren't any prescriptions on what the policy must say.

If your state doesn't have a library filtering law, how likely is it, do you think, that you will have one soon?

I asked Pam what she sees as the current trend, and she replied (reprinted with permission):

Several years ago, state legislatures were responding to citizen concerns by introducing and enacting legislation relating to Internet filtering or access policies in schools and libraries.  But since Congress passed the Children's Internet Protection Act in 2000 and the Supreme Court upheld the law in 2003, fewer states have seen the need for legislation in this area.

Pam Greenberg
NCSL 

Would this make a good CIPA-as-applied lawsuit?

I think so. If actually implemented as reported (unless the "capable" filters are turned off), the ACLU or others might take a look at filing a First Amendment as-applied challenge.

All library computers will soon have one of two filters: children's computers will have broad filters capable of blocking pornographic material as well as violent or hateful material. Adult computers will have narrower filters designed to block visually pornographic sites.

By Alison Shackelford, L.A. County libraries set porn limits on computer users October 13, 2005 Copley News Service

I understand the impulse to protect children from violent and hateful sites - but they have a right to such material, and in fact who decides what's hateful or violent?   Government prohibitions against violent video games, however well intended, fail once challenged in court. See July 17, 2004 LibraryLaw Blog post.

Bill to keep gay books out of libraries officially read by Alabama legislature February 1, 2005 - Text of HB30

The Alabama state legislator's bill to prevent public libraries and other public entities from owning, purchasing, or making accessible any materials regarding homosexuality or gay culture has been introduced as HB30, first read February 1, 2005.

It says that no public funds may be used by public libraries (or schools, colleges, universities) to purchase or promote printed or electronic materials that "recognize, foster, or promote a [homosexual] lifestyle."

Who would evaluate the materials?  How would ever-changing databases be screened? What would the standards be for determining what would be promoting homosexuality? Would all materials on homosexuality be banned, since even materials condemning homosexuality recognize its existence? Would this new mandate become the full-time occupation for library staffs?

Read on more analysis viz a viz lessons learned from the history of free speech, libraries and the Supreme Court and for the text of HB30.

May a public library summarily take away Internet access from a patron who is looking at pictures of nude women?

Grrr..the blog ate my entry TWICE, so here's a much shortened answer:

No, not without giving the patron notice and an opportunity to appeal, at least according to a federal district court in North Carolina this month.

Ralph Miller sued the library, the library director, and the librarian who barred him from the Internet.  He claims that she came up behind him when he was reading the Russian newspaper "Pravda.ru" online.  "Unwelcome and unsolicited" nude image(s) had popped up on his computer.  Miller says that the librarian ordered him off the computer at the Mt. Airy (N.C.) library and banned his access at all thirteen libraries in the system.

The court just ruled in favor of Miller.  That is, he's made a valid due process claim. He has a First Amendment right of access to information (Kreimer, Neinast, Armstrong cases). At a minimum, the library must give users notice and an opportunity to appeal.

The court said that the Supreme Court's decision upholding the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) makes it clear that libraries can adopt Internet use agreements prohibiting users from accessing visual depictions of child pornography and obscenity. That does not mean, however, that libraries can dispense with due process.

Minow take: I'm surprised (again) if the library doesn't have some appeals process, essential for legally enforceable behavior policies. Maybe the patron is telling the truth - what if he was just trying to read Pravda? What was the nature of the photos? (Remember the Hawaii patron who sued the library when he was allegedly banned looking at pictures of men with their shirts off?) Miller deserves a chance to tell his side of the story before summarily having his access taken away. Is there more to the library's side of the story? Maybe he should have been banned, after getting due process.  We need the facts, which we'll get if it goes to trial.  More likely it'll settle. If you're in North Carolina and follow this case, please send updates back to LibraryLaw blog.

Ralph J. Miller v. Northwest Region Library Bd., P Gwyn, Librarian, J. Hedrick, Director, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25403, December 8, 2004.

Why can universities prohibit military recruiters and keep federal funding, when libraries can't refuse filters and keep federal discounts and grants?

Good question, right?  Good topic for a law review article, says my sister Martha.  Martha Minow spearheaded an amicus brief arguing (on statutory grounds) that universities should not have to allow military recruiters access to students as a condition of receiving funding from the Pentagon.  The UNIVERSITIES WON on First Amendment grounds in the Third Circuit on Nov. 29, 2004.

Sound similar to the libraries arguing that they should not have to install filters as a condition of receiving erate discounts and lsta funds?  The LIBRARIES LOST in the Supreme Court in 2003.

Martha speculates that it may come down to a specific message versus a general message.  That is, the holding in the University case is that the speech that law schools want to engage in--pro equal treatment--was suppressed. The universities were thus forced to carry the government's message.   She asks if the libraries could make the same argument -- is there a message that is suppressed with filters and one that's forced?  Perhaps the message is a general one, that speech is curbed? Is this different from a specific message?

The University case decision distinguishes itself from the Library case in a footnote. The court emphasizes the difference between conditions on a specific source of funds and conditions on the use of general federal  funds.

(Mary) Minow take: To me, it looks like the court says the University case is different because it was a GENERAL spending program.  In the Library case, the funds and discounts that were denied were those earmarked for Internet access - thus the federal government could condition the Internet use.   This distinction could be hugely important in assessing the state mini-CIPA laws, that require filters as a condition of any state money as opposed to state funding for Internet access.  If you live in a state with a mini-CIPA, you should read this case.

FORUM FOR ACADEMIC AND INSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS v. DONALD H. RUMSFELD et al, No. 03-4433, UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 24598, June 30, 2004, Argued,  November 29, 2004, Filed

Blog blocked at library

There's a lively discussion (20 comments and counting) at isthatlegal.org about a blog that's been blocked by the Seminole (Fla) County Public Library:

IsThatLegal? Why, No. It's Not.

A reader informs me that this blog has been blocked by the Seminole(Fla.) County Public Library.

It's hard to know what got me on the banned blogs list. Perhaps the librarian is a big fan of Duran Duran. Or of Siegfried and Roy.

Or maybe it's the dog.

Seriously, this seems like an odd censorship policy to me. There could be a story here. Drop by your public library and see whether you can reach the blogs you like to read. (Unless they're, uh, you know, not safe for work.) If you can't reach some of them, ask your librarian why not, and leave a comment here.

Sounds like a good idea -- and maybe it turns out that some off-the-shelf filtering software blocks some blogs, which suggests that messages to the filter producer (once it's identified) might help get them unblocked wholesale.

via The Volokh Conspiracy

Law requiring ISPs to block child porn struck down today - can the Phoenix City Council decision hold up? (NO!)

More from The Volokh Conspiracy:

Pennsylvania law that requires ISPs to block alleged child porn siteshas just been struck down, both on First Amendment grounds and dormant Commerce Clause grounds. I haven't read the entire opinion, but what I have read suggests that the court's main reasons were: (1) given existing technical limitations, the law essentially pressures ISPs into blocking a lot of fully protected material as well as the unprotected child pornography; (2) the orders are issued before a full trial on the merits and are thus unconstitutional prior restraints (see the discussion of prior restraint law in this article for more); and (3) the law ended up excessively interfering not just with access to protected material by Pennsylvanians but also with such access by residents of other states, which makes the law an unconstitutional state regulation of interstate commerce (not all such state regulations are unconstitutional, but some are). The opinion is here.

A ripe case for a new lawsuit: Phoenix Public Library

It would be an easy vote to say "no porn in libraries." But mountains of documentation show that you can't screen out porn without screening out lots of sites with words like "Dick Cheney." The Supreme Court recognized that filters are far from perfect. Filters are based on keywords. Image recognition software for this still blocks out chimpanzees, babies, art etc. and is even worse than keyword software.

That's why the Supreme Court said that although it is Constitutional for Congress to require libraries to use filters (at least those libraries that get certain federal discounts and grants), the libraries must disable the filters on request by an adult patron. For more detail, see an article I wrote for First Monday.

The Phoenix City Council, however, voted to require all filters all the time. If someone has a link to the ordinance, please send it. This restrictive measure is ripe for a lawsuit. Meanwhile, I guess everyone in Phoenix will have to find full Internet access elsewhere.

See Phoenix may end up in court after banning Internet porn in libraries -news entry by Brandon Smith at Jurist.law.pitt.edu

Beware of the Mini-CIPAs

August's American Libraries includes my editorial about state legislation based on the Supreme Court's American Library Association decision on the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) -- allowing the requirement of filters on library computers to receive government funding. Because the proposed state laws often go further than CIPA, "some libraries are likely to be put in an impossible position -- subject to both the federal standard and a competing state one."

In response to legislation which requires "prevention" rather than "protecting against access" to unwanted materials,

A prevention requirement would force librarians to act as both exemplary computer programmers and attorneys, determining which websites would and would not violate this law. . . . Even using the best filters on the market, some unwanted materials are bound to slip through the sieve. Librarians are professionals who make decisions, and they should not be held to an impossible standard.

Public libraries take note of yet another court decision protecting violent speech: don't filter violent sites

There are no public libraries filtering violent websites that have been sued that I know of. Don't be the first. I mention this because I still get asked by librarians if they HAVE to filter violent websites under the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA and definitely not). CIPA requires libraries with certain federal dollars or discounts to try to block C-O-H - Child pornography, Obscenity and "Harmful to Minors." For legal definitions of what CIPA libraries are supposed to try to block, see an article I wrote last year for LLRX.com.

In fact, I believe [see First Monday] a policy or practice blocking violent sites in a public library is likely to attract a lawsuit by a civil liberties group, and I think the library would lose.

I bring this up now because free speech won in federal district court again last week, in Video Software Dealers Assn. v. Norm Maleng. The state of Washington passed a law last year that would have imposed a $500 fine to people renting video games to minors under 17 that depicted realistic violence against law enforcement officers.

The Video Software Dealers Assn filed a lawsuit. The Media Coalition (including the Freedom to Read Foundation) filed a brief as amici curiae in support of the Video Software Dealers Assn. The state's position is summarized here (written before the decision in favor of the Video Software Dealers last week). This is at least the third court that has clearly said recently that the First Amendment trumps restrictions on violent speech, even for children.

Do I want kids to see gruesome violence? No. Do I want the state defining and enforcing what kids can and cannot see? Again, no.

I want parents to make these decisions for their own children, and I'm in favor of efforts to persuade producers and more importantly advertisers to show some responsibility. NO ads during preschool TV shows is a great idea. In fact I highly recommend Newton Minow's book Abandoned in the Wasteland, an effort to curb violence in the media aimed at children while protecting the First Amendment. As my dad is fond of saying, "just because you have the right to do something doesn't mean it's the right thing to do." Both my father and my sister Nell are involved in Jim Steyer's Common Sense Media, an important step in the right direction.

University of Maryland Center for Information Policy revamped its website

The University of Maryland Center for Information Policy revamped its homepage and it's worth taking a look.

It has up-to-the hour news feeds on:

Corporate Security, Data Mining, Information Security, Intellectual Property, Patriot Act, Privacy Issues, RFIDs

It has an upcoming calendar including:

November 19: CIP Principal Mary Minow will participate on a panel at "Canadian Copyright and the University," sponsored by the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy at McGill University.

October 19-22: Educause will hold its annual conference, "IT from a Higher Vantage Point, focusing on IT issues in higher education in Denver. Click here for more information.

September 28: CIP Principal Mary Minow will discuss "Is It Hot In Here? What We Need to Know NOW About Current Legal Issues Affecting Libraries." The event is sponsored by the Tampa Bay Library Consortium, the University of South Florida School of Library and Information Science, and Stetson University College of Law Library. For more information, click here.

September 11: Lee Strickland will speak on "Government Secrecy and Power vs. Individual Rights in the Global War on Terrorism" at Calvert Library, Prince Frederick, MD, 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Call 410-535-0291 or 301-855-1862 for more information.

August 5-8: CIP Principal Vedat Diker will present "A Dynamic Feedback Framework for Studying Growth Policies in open Online Collaboration Communities" at the 2004 Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMICS) in New York City, NY.

August 4-5: The Information Security for Network Managers seminar in Pittsburgh, PA, will teach information technology and network managers the practical knowledge required to ensure the security of their information assets.

July 28-29: Lee Strickland will moderate a panel at GovSec: Government Security Expo & Conference on Challenges to Information Sharing and Protection: Post 9/1, 9:00-10:00 a.m., at the Washington DC Conference Center.

E-rate settlement in San Francisco

Mac News: Industry News: NEC to Pay $20 Million in School Fraud Case

By Matt Richtel and Gary Rivlin, MacNewsWorld 05/31/04

Criminal investigations into corruption and waste in the so-called E-rate program, a federal program to bring Internet access to poor schools and libraries, have yielded the biggest legal settlement to date.

NEC Business Network Solutions, a subsidiary of the computer giant NEC, agreed on Thursday to plead guilty to two federal felony counts, one for wire fraud and one for antitrust violation, and to pay $20.7 million in fines and restitution.

The settlement, announced in federal court in San Francisco, comes amid increasing scrutiny of the multibillion-dollar E-rate program. Congressional hearings on waste and fraud in the program may be conducted as early as next month, according to congressional staff members. Lawyers involved in the case said there were likely to be additional, and even larger, settlements with other technology vendors.

Will the intensified e-rate scrutiny result in greater scrutiny of Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) compliance?

Lawsuits To Threaten Libraries That Do Not Filter Internet

The Traditional Values Coalition claims that it will launch a series of class-action lawsuits against libraries that do not filter pornography from their computers (Help Us Protect Children from Library Porn and Pedophiles!). The Anaheim, Ca. based group is led by Rev. Louis P. Sheldon and generally focuses on opposition to homosexual civil liberties. Rev. Sheldon was most recently in the news for opposing spousal benefits for non-heterosexual couples following the World Trade Center attack. From Ernest Miller at LawMeme

I'm curious to see what legal basis they try to find - I recently wrote an article, Lawfully Surfing the Net: Disabling Public Library Internet Filters to Avoid More Lawsuits in the United States for First Monday (April 2004) that shows IMHO (in my humble opinion), that there really aren't any viable bases for such a suit. I'm talking about pure speech, not behavior issues.

p.s. All libraries revile pedophiles and virtually no public libraries want porn. The issue is HOW to get rid of it without overblocking sites like librarylaw blog which just used the word "porn" and is thus subject to erroneous blocking.

Library must allow semi-nude art (1994 Bellospirito case in NY)

This isn't new, but I've looked for the case online before, without success. I just now found it at the National Coalition Against Censorship site. It's an "unpublished opinion" which means you can't cite it in court. Nevertheless, its analysis is well written and useful for libraries that want to understand meeting room/exhibit policies in light of the First Amendment.

Bellospirito v. Manhasset Public Library, 1994 No. 93-CV-4484 (E.D.N.Y.)

The library agreed to show oil paintings by artist Robyn Bellospirito. The library did not know that some of the pieces depicted semi-nude women. When it found out, it told the artist it had a "firm" policy against artwork showing nudity. Apparently the policy was not in written form, but the library prohibited the display. The Court may have been ready to strike the library policy on that basis alone (too much discretion to government officials without specific guidance), but the artist did not raise that issue. The artist sued the library, claiming her First Amendment rights had been violated.

The court ruled for the artist. It found that the library's exhibit space was a limited public forum. The artistic expression was within the parameters of the forum, and any restriction on its content was subject to strict scrutiny-- that is it must be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest, a nearly impossible test to meet.

The CIPA case IMHO [In My Humble Opinion] doesn't affect this at all. It denied limited public forum status to Internet terminals in a library. That has no bearing on exhibit spaces, meeting rooms that are designated as places for public expression. Fuller summary of Bellospirito at NCAC. More on meeting rooms at a presentation I did for Infopeople in 2002.

March 2004 California child porn case gives useful background on "bona fide research" in obscenity and child porn cases (re: CIPA)

For those of you wondering where on earth the bona fide research language that was slipped into CIPA comes from, take a look at People v Heath Daniel Woodward, 116 Cal. App. 4th 821 (2004)

This case focuses on California law, and gives a decent background on how the law developed here and in other states, citing 400 E. Baltimore St., Inc. v. State (1981) 49 Md. App. 147 and United States v. 31 Photographs (S.D.N.Y. 1957) 156 F. Supp. 350 for the derivation of bona fide research ... also discussion of legitimate scientific medical or educational activities.

The upshot for defendant Woodward, who was prosecuted not only for possession of child porn but also for lewd conduct with his young daughter: his convictions were upheld. The appeal was based in part on the lack of a jury instruction to consider the child pornography posession as an aid to legitimate scientific or educational purposes.

The Appellate court found that the lack of such instructions was not prejudicial..."A reasonable jury would not have found defendant's involvement with, and long-term possession of, child pornography to be legitimate scientific or educational research. Had the jury been given the instruction without the additional instructions, it was not reasonably probable that an outcome more favorable to defendant would have resulted." (Opinion by Butz, J., with Scotland, P. J., and Sims, J., concurring.)

LibraryLaw.com

Cross referencing here like a good librarian -- if you clicked on a blog topic, you might find more or related info at LibraryLaw.com