Does Filtering Stop the Flow of Valuable Information?: A Case Study of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) in South Dakota

Abstract:     
In response to the public's request to protect children from the ever growing body of pornographic material available on the Internet, the United States Congress has made a number of legislative attempts "to shield children from Internet smut." In 2000, Congress changed from a prohibition mentality to a filtering mentality, and the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act.

The filtering requirements of the CIPA present one of the first successful governmental efforts to help parents protect their children from harmful Internet material. However, the lingering issue is whether that filtering effort, as alleged by the CIPA opponents, unduly restricts the free speech rights of adults. A study was designed to determine how often adults were denied access to information at South Dakota public libraries using the federal E-rate program as a filter on library terminals.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 8

Accepted Paper Series