Here's the decision itself: http://laws.findlaw.com/us/000/02-361.html The ALA chat is archived at the URL Robert provided below (sorry for delay in sending this out). -Declan --- Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 14:22:18 -0400 From: Robert MacMillan <robert.macmillanat_private> Subject: filtering decision Live Online To: declanat_private Hi Declan, We're going to have Emily Shektoff, executive director of the American Library Association's DC office, as a guest for a Live Online discussion about the implications of the Supreme Court ruling on the Children's Internet Protection Act. The session runs from 3 to 4 p.m. here: http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/zforum/03/sp_technews_shektoff062303.htm If any Politech readers are interested, we're happy to take questions. Thanks, Robert --- Subject: Supreme Court Filtering Decision - Child Pawn Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C339EA.95BDA478" Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 17:50:19 -0700 From: "Clinton D. Fein" <clinton.feinat_private> To: "Declan McCullagh" <declanat_private> Hi Declan: While I have no doubt you will be covering this predictable, but unfortunate Supreme Court decision, here is the Annoy.com take, which looks at the extent to which even the dissenters seemed to ignore the intended target of the legislation. Children. I guess perseverance eventually renders old constitutional arguments meaningless. Clinton Child Pawn June 23, 2003 <http://www.annoy.com/editorials/doc.html?DocumentID=100501>http://www.annoy.com/editorials/doc.html?DocumentID=100501 [Excerpt] Today, a divided Supreme Court ruled that Congress can force the nation's public libraries to equip computers with anti-pornography filters. The fundamentally flawed blocking technology, intended to keep smut from children, does not violate the First Amendment even though it shuts off some legitimate, if not critically and life-saving importantly informational Web sites, such as how to practice safe sex, the court held. Despite the sharply divided ruling, the biggest losers in todays decision were young people intelligent enough to make informed decisions, but too young to enjoy the freedoms available to adults under the First Amendment. [...] If a teenager seeking information about avoiding sexually transmitted diseases or avoiding pregnancy is not a legitimate reason to allow unfiltered access to Internet materials, it cannot be said that the statute represents legitimate objectives claiming to protect children. And even if the court had even bothered to address childrens access in a meaningful manner, Rehnquist observed wryly that "the Constitution does not guarantee the right to acquire information at a public library without any risk of embarrassment." A surefire way to encourage children seeking information that would be too embarrassing to ask of adults! Justice Souter, who dissented, argued that if the only First Amendment issues raised were those of children he would have no problem upholding the application of the Act, stating, "I do not think that the awkwardness a child might feel on asking for an unblocked terminal is any such burden as to affect constitutionality." Once again, it is difficult to take the stated objective of protecting the interests of children seriously. [/Excerpt] _________________________ Clinton Fein Editor & Publisher Annoy.com 555 Florida Street, Suite 407 San Francisco, CA 94110 Phone: 415-552-7655 Fax: 415-552-7656 <http://annoy.com/>http://annoy.com/ _________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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