Politicians Warm to Idea of Mandatory Filters

Staff -- School Library Journal, 3/1/1998

More and more politicians are discovering Internet filters--and they like them. U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is drafting legislation that would require schools receiving federal telecom discounts to use some sort of Web filter that prevents students from accessing porn.

The legislation won't require a specific technology, said Pia Pialorsi, press secretary for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which McCain chairs. The senator "wants schools and libraries to select whatever software they believe suits their community standards."

ALA has protested the idea of tying a filtering requirement to the new e-rate. In its written testimony, the association will try to show that "different communities come to different resolutions on the issue," including not filtering at all, said Lynne Bradley, Deputy Executive Director of ALA's Washington Office.

But McCain is not alone in pushing a federal filter mandate. In the House, U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) plans to introduce a similar bill, Bradley said.

Meanwhile, in Virginia, state Delegate Robert G. Marshall (R-Manassas) introduced a bill that would require public libraries receiving state funds to install Web filters. It also would require children using unfiltered Internet terminals to be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult. Any unfiltered terminals would have to be in "restricted library areas physically separate from areas in which juveniles are permitted unaccompanied by adults."