Laws Affecting Library Policy
Overview
Federal CIPA Law
During the 1990’s, congress tried repeatedly to enact legislation to prohibit the viewing of internet pornography on school and public library computers but these efforts were repeatedly thwarted by the lobbying efforts of the American Library Association and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Finally, the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was passed by Congress on December 15, 2000 and signed into law by President Clinton on December 21, 2000. Congress intended for CIPA to prevent minors (defined as persons less than 17 years of age) from accessing obscene or harmful images on the internet while at school or in public libraries.
In order to create a law that could stand up to legal challenges, congress had to make internet filtering voluntary. Libraries only need comply with CIPA regulations if they wish to enjoy the cost savings on internet access and internal connections provided by the federally subsidized “E-rate” program.
Even so, the American Library Association and the ACLU waged a protracted legal battle against CIPA that was eventually settled in the United States Supreme Court, which upheld the law as constitutional.
Still today, the American Library Association holds the position that libraries should not filter internet pornography in public or even school libraries and should forfeit the cost savings available with CIPA compliance. Today, some public and school libraries thwart the American Library Associations’ advice and voluntarily comply with CIPA, while others do not.
You can find out whether or not your library is participating in the CIPA program by going to the USAC website. This is the company that administers the funds for CIPA.
If you believe that your library is not in compliance with CIPA, but is receiving funds, you should report it immediately through the USAC Whistleblower Hotline.
State CIPA Laws
Since many public libraries choose not to filter internet access, graphic pornographic images and even illegal images including obscenity and child pornography continue to be displayed on library computer screens, often in plain view of children.
Some state legislatures have stepped in and passed State CIPA laws that tie state funding to the use of pornography blocking internet filters. While some states have succeeded in seeing state CIPA laws passed, other states have tried and failed, as these efforts are consistently opposed by the American Library Association and their affiliate organizations in every state.
'Harmful to Minors' Laws
Most states have “Harmful to Minors” statutes making it a criminal offense to disseminate specific types of sexually explicit materials to minors. What is harmful to minors is to be defined on the basis of contemporary community standards.
However, in many states, libraries are either completely exempt from these laws, or can disseminate material ‘harmful to minors’ to minors if the library claims it is for educational purposes.
Public libraries can be required by state law to protect minors from exposure to materials that fall within the definition of harmful to minors.
Regardless of whether they are required to do so by law, FFL believes that all public and school libraries should protect minors from exposure to materials that fall within the definition of ‘harmful to minors.’
The applicability of ‘harmful to minors’ statutes in libraries varies from state to state.
In 2002, the Center for the Community Interest compiled a survey of each state’s ‘harmful to minors’ statutes and provided an analysis of whether these statutes are applicable in libraries. Although some of information in the survey may have changed since 2002, the survey is still an excellent source of information and legal analysis regarding ‘harmful to minors’ statutes.
Obscenity Laws
Federal law prohibits the distribution of obscenity. In addition, Morality in Media, reports that every state in the union except Hawaii and Alaska has some kind of obscenity law prohibiting hard core graphic sexual material. Review state obscenity laws here.
If you or your child are exposed to obscenity in a library or elsewhere, you should report it at obscenitycrimes.org. ObscenityCrimes.org was created primarily for citizens who have been unintentionally exposed to pornography or ads for pornography on the Internet or whose children have been exposed to pornography or ads for pornography on the Internet.
Child Pornography Laws
The possession or distribution of child pornography is illegal under federal law and laws in all 50 states.
Under federal law, child pornography is defined as a visual depiction of any kind, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting, photograph, film, video, or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means, of sexually explicit conduct, where it
* depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and is obscene, or
* depicts an image that is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in graphic bestiality, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex, and such depiction lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Library Confidentiality Laws
In many states, library confidentiality laws prohibit library staff from cooperating with local law enforcement officials until a search warrant or subpoena for library records is obtained, which puts a significant burden on law enforcement officials.
These laws effectively prevent state and local law enforcement officials from quickly accessing library records when crimes are reported in libraries, seriously hobbling legitimate criminal investigations into the activities of suspected criminals, including terrorists and child predators. Read about the implications of these laws for an Illinois town here:
For this reason, many law enforcement officials are opposed to such laws. One leading expert, Dr. Frank Kardasz of Arizona, recommends specific policies libraries can enact in order to better protect children in libraries. Family Friendly Libraries supports these recommendations. Read Dr. Kardasz Recommendations for Library Safety here.
Many libraries are so determined to frustrate the efforts of law enforcement officials that they use computer software that does not keep track of materials a person has checked out after the items are returned, have special software that erases the record of websites visited by computer users, and have stopped using computer sign-up sheets.
When libraries systematically purge Internet and borrowing records, they are effectively playing the role of the accomplice who flushes evidence while a criminal climbs out the window. When law enforcement officials arrive at a library with a subpoena or search warrent, all records which might serve as evidence are gone.
Each local library must decide for itself whether it wants to engage in the purging of records that many equate with giving predators preferential treatment in libraries.
Family Friendly Libraries has provided general information about laws affecting libraries. This is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as, legal advice. We recommend checking the current legal code in your locality with regard to all laws affecting libraries.
