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State court to hear NCRL Internet filter lawsuitOLYMPIA, Jun 22, 2009 (The Wenatchee World - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The Washington State Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday over whether an Internet filter at the North Central Regional Library System violates freedom of speech rights. "Several libraries are really looking at it close and holding their breath," NCRL Director Dean Marney said. "The state librarian is going to be there. How many times does a library get to the Supreme Court level?" The American Civil Liberties Union sued the regional library system in 2006 on behalf of three North Central Washington residents and a pro-gun organization who say the library's Internet filter policy violated their state and federal freedom of speech rights. The lawsuit was originally filed in federal court. A federal judge referred part of the case to the state Supreme Court, which will decide whether the policy is lawful under the state constitution, said ACLU spokesman Doug Honig. At issue is whether libraries should offer a way to turn off Internet filters for adults who request it. Internet filters are required by the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) in order for schools and public libraries to qualify for federal money. The North Central Regional Library system includes 28 community libraries in Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Ferry and Okanogan counties. The majority of the branches have one or two public computers. CIPA requires that three categories of Web sites be blocked: Visual depictions of obscenity, child pornography and images "harmful to minors." Fortiguard, NCRL's system-wide filter, also blocks Web chat, instant messaging, gambling sites, image searches, video searches, nudity, pornography and anything that could damage the libraries' computer network. The four plaintiffs in the lawsuit say the filter unfairly blocks legal, appropriate information too, such as health-related research, social networking sites and informational sites about drug and alcohol addiction. The ACLU wants a court order directing NCRL to disable the Internet filter at the request of adults. "NCRL's policy full-time filtering for adults is overbroad, and the library has no reasonable justification for denying adult patrons access to the substantial amount of information it blocks," Honig said in a prepared statement. NCRL will not completely remove the filter, but library staff will review and sometimes unblock individual Web sites upon request, Marney said. The process takes less than 24 hours, he said. "What we're saying is you've got to consider the rights of kids to be protected in a safe environment and the right of employees to work in a non-hostile work environment," Marney said. According to court documents, NCRL received 92 requests to unblock Web sites between October 2007 and February 2008. Of those, 12 requests were granted. A few library systems statewide side with NCRL's policies, including the Fort Vancouver library system and the Olympia-based Timberland library system in southwest Washington, Marney said. Other metro libraries, such as Seattle and Spokane, offer patrons a choice, Marney said. Rachel Schleif: 664-7139 [email protected] To see more of The Wenatchee World or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wenworld.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Wenatchee World, Wash. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |