Action: Legislation and Policymaking: Blocking: United States 2000: Childrens' Internet Protection Act
Federal Blocking Legislation 2000
Status: Passed, Federal appeals panel held library provisions unconstitutional on May 31, 2002, but school provisions still in force
Overview
Summary: Childrens' Internet Protection Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to make an elementary school, secondary school, or library ineligible to receive or retain universal service assistance under such Act unless it certifies to the Federal Communications Commission that it has selected and installed (or will install) a technology for computers with Internet access which filters or blocks material deemed harmful to minors.
Full Text of Bill
Sponsor: Sen. John McCain
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Joint Statement Opposing Legislative Requirements for School and Library Internet Blocking Technologies
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Join this growing constituency of organizations and individuals
who have published
a joint statement in response to the US Congress' passage
of legislation requiring blocking technology in all public schools
and libraries participating in federal programs in order
to galvanize opposition to mandatory blocking
technology and to promote educational methods for youth to
use the Internet safely and effectively, January 17, 2001
Media Coverage
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Porn Filters Found to Be Ineffective Tools
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The Borough Assembly will soon vote on whether to force the public library to install expensive, ineffective Internet censorship filters on all its public and staff computers, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (September 6, 2003)
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CIPA-Regulated Filters Fall Far Short
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A recent study by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Online Policy Group (OPG) concludes that the blocking software used is not accomplishing the purposes of CIPA, blocking appropriate materials and by failing to block inappropriate content, Law.com via USA Today (July 24, 2003)
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E-Legal: The Failure of Internet Blocking in Schools and Libraries
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a recent study by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Online Policy Group (OPG) concludes that the blocking software used is not accomplishing the purposes of CIPA because it blocks appropriate materials and fails to block inappropriate content, Law.com (registration required) (July 22, 2003)
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Supremely Blocked: Libraries and Filters
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A recent study by the EFF and the Online Policy Group examined the effects of N2H2 and SurfControl's filtering software, two of the popular products on the market, InternetNews.com (July 11, 2003)
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Organizations and Related Publications
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New First Report: Net Filters in Libraries
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Internet Filters and Public Libraries by David L. Sobel (OPG Advisory Board member) is a new First Report now available from the First Amendment Center, First Amendment Center (November 12, 2003)
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Children’s Internet Protection Act Study of Technology Protection Measures
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On August 15, 2003, NTIA released a report pursuant to section 1703 of the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), Pub.L.No. 106-554, 114 Stat. 2763, 2763A-336 (2000), evaluating the effectiveness of technology protection measures and safety policies used by educational institutions, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (August 15, 2003)
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Study Released on Internet Blocking in Schools, Filtering Software Overblocks and Miscategorizes Websites
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The Online Policy Group (OPG) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today released a study documenting the effects of Internet blocking, also known as filtering, in U.S. schools. The study found that blocking software overblocked state-mandated curriculum topics extensively -- for every web page correctly blocked as advertised, one or more was blocked incorrectly, Online Policy Group and Electronic Frontier Foundation (June 23, 2003)
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Sex and the Internet
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OPG Executive Director Will Doherty presented a program entitled "Sex and the Internet" to the annual conference of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality in San Jose, CA, Online Policy Group (April 12, 2003)
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The Great Firewall of China
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OPG Executive Director Will Doherty presented a program entitled "The Great Firewall of China: Filtering, Blocking, and
Government Censorship" to the annual Computers, Freedom, and Privacy conference in New York City, Online Policy Group (April 3, 2003)
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