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Date: 1998-04-08

Filtersoftware (PICS): U.S. Zensurgesetz erfolgreich angegriffen


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q/depesche 98.4.8.1

Filtersoftware (PICS): U.S. Zensurgesetz erfolgreich angegriffen

Hier kommt das erste Urteil nach dem School Filtering Act des
Handelskomitees im U.S. Senat. Der einstimmige Gesetz/Beschluss im
genannten Gremium koppelte die Vergabe von Bundesgeldern an
öffentliche Schulen & Bibliotheken mit der Verpflichtung zum
Einsatz von Filterprogrammen - zum Schutz der jugendlichem vor
anstössigem Material.
Dem Klage/Begehr der von ACLU, EFF & anderen unterstützten Kläger
gegen das Zensur/Gesetz wurde stattgegeben
http://www.aclu.org/congress/lg031198a.html

Ganz offenbar, weil - siehe unten - eine Bezirksrichterin in East
Virginia verstanden hat, dass bei Einsatz von Stichwortfiltern
gegen Obszönität in allen Schulen & Bibliotheken der USA weder
eine komplette Bibel, noch Homers oder Joyces Odysseen online
verfügbar wären.


from:
Barry Steinhardt (Barrys@eff.org),President
Electronic Frontier Foundation

Judge Sets Highest Legal Hurdle For Using Blocking Software in
Libraries
Tuesday, April 7, 1998

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- In the first major ruling on the use of
Internet
blocking software in libraries, a federal district judge today
forcefully
rejected a government motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the
use of such software in public libraries in Loudoun County,
Virginia.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Virginia,
which
represent a diverse group of eight Internet speakers seeking to
reach library
patrons, hailed the ruling as one of the strongest ever defenses
of online free speech.

"We are thrilled that the judge in this case, a former
librarian, recognized the Internet as the ultimate library
resource," said Ann Beeson, an ACLU staff attorney who appeared
before the court.

"Every member of every library board considering an
Internet-blocking
policy ought to read the judge's ruling," said Kent Willis,
Executive Director of
the ACLU of Virginia. "It will remind them of why we have
libraries and why an unfettered Internet serves the fundamental
purpose of libraries better than any invention since the printing
press."

In a 36-page decision issued earlier today, Judge Leonie M.
Brinkema of
the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said
that the
government had "misconstrued the nature of the Internet" and held
that "the Library Board may not adopt and enforce content-based
restrictions on access to protected Internet speech."

Calling public libraries places of "freewheeling and
independent
inquiry," Judge Brinkema quoted extensively from Reno v. ACLU, the
landmark Supreme Court decision on Internet free speech, noting
that the Court "analogized the Internet to a 'vast library
including millions of readily available and indexed publications,'
the content of which 'is as diverse as human thought.'"

The court today also rejected the notion that the use of
blocking
software can be considered analogous to a librarian selecting
certain materials, noting that Internet publications "exist only
in 'cyberspace,'" and do not "take up shelf space or require
physical maintenance of any kind."

Nor do such publications cost money, the judge said, noting
that in
fact, "it costs a library more to restrict the content of its
collection by means of
blocking software than it does for the library to offer
unrestricted access to all
Internet publications."

Beeson said that although the case will still go forward, the
unequivocal language of the ruling gave the government a very high
burden to meet in its defense of the blocking policy.

"Blocking software is nothing more than CDA in a box," Beeson
said.
"With today's ruling, the court correctly applied the same level
of First Amendment scrutiny that the Supreme Court used in
rejecting the CDA."

Beeson also said that the ruling should serve as a strong
deterrent to
recent efforts in Congress to mandate the use of blocking software
in public schools and libraries.

In a unanimous voice vote last month, the Senate Commerce
Committee
passed the Internet School Filtering Act, a bill that requires all
public
libraries and schools that receive federal funds for Internet
access to use blocking software.

Urging against the policy, the ACLU said in a letter to the
Committee that "the government may not condition federal funding
on unconstitutional requirements," emphasizing that "parents and
teachers, not the government, should provide minors with guidance
about accessing the Internet."

In the Loudoun case, the national ACLU and the ACLU of
Virginia
intervened in the lawsuit on behalf of a diverse group of speakers
outside of the county - - and even outside the United States --
who want to reach their intended worldwide audience, including
library patrons in Loudoun County.

The ACLU's plaintiffs are:

The Safer Sex Page, created by John Troyer.

Banned Books Online, created by John Ockerbloom.

American Association of University Women Maryland (AAUW
Maryland).

Rob Morse, an award-winning columnist for the San
Francisco Examiner.

Books for Gay and Lesbian Teens Youth Page, created by
18-year-old Jeremy Myers.

Sergio Arau, the popular Mexican artist and rock singer
known as "El Padrino."

Renaissance Transgender Association, a group serving the
transgendered
community.

The Ethical Spectacle, created by Jonathan Wallace.

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edited by Harkank
published on: 1998-04-08
comments to office@quintessenz.at
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