By
The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA - Civil liberties groups and the American Library Association filed suit yesterday to block a federal law that would require schools and libraries to install Internet filters on computers to keep youngsters from seeing smut.
The groups said the Children's Internet Protection Act would censor constitutionally protected information - a cyberspace equivalent to tearing pages out of encyclopedias or removing books from shelves.
"The law has a nice-sounding name, but the truth is that it offers no guarantee for children," said Elliot Minchberg, an attorney for the People for the American Way Foundation. "The only thing this law guaranteed is that the rights of parents and the public will be seriously violated."
The foundation and the American Library Association filed the lawsuits on behalf of nearly a dozen plaintiffs, including local library groups and individuals.
The suits were filed in the same court where the successful challenge of the 1996 Communications Decency Act was launched and where the earlier Children's Online Protection Act was put on hold pending trial. Both measures sought to shield children from online pornography.
Under last year's law - which takes effect April 20 unless a judge issues an injunction - libraries would lose federal grants earmarked for technology unless they install computer filtering software that blocks access to online material deemed "obscene," "harmful to minors" or "child pornography."
Critics contend there is no guarantee the software will screen out all objectionable material, and say it can inadvertently block access to information regarding health, sexuality and social issues.
Stefan Presser, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, said the law would mean that adults and children who cannot afford Internet access at home will see only a filtered Internet at libraries.
"The unintended consequence is the widening of the racial digital divide," he said. "This affects more African-American children, whose only ability to get online is at the library, giving them less access to information than their Caucasian counterparts" whose families can afford Internet access at home.
