Fighting the Good Fight

In keeping with the last post, I thought I'd mention this tidbit:

Librarians are testifying in a trial (AP, Reuters) arguing against the constitutionality of a law that requires them to screen out Internet pornography. Failure to comply means libraries lose federal funding as of this summer.

Librarians contend that the laws turn them into "thought police" and that it's up to the parents and community, not the government and the library, to decide what content is appropriate for patrons. They further claim that compliant filtering software is an expensive burden and doesn't work.

The government claims filtering software has improved so non-pornographic sites are less likely to be filtered, and that printed pornographic material is not offered in library collections.

My favorite quote, from the AP article:

"Your policy is just plug in the (Internet) service and essentially tell patrons, `Don't break the law,' is that correct?" asked Timothy Zick, a Justice Department attorney.

"Yes," Morgan replied.

An interesting aside: testimony in the trial could give away "trade secrets about specific filtering software products."