IP: Conservative groups oppose mandatory library filtering

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2000 09:08:17 -0400
> To: politech () politechbot com
> From: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
>
>
> [If I have been slow to reply to email, I apologize. I have been in the 
> Laurentians, a chain of mountains an hour north of Montreal, since 
> Thursday at an economics conference. --Declan]
>
>
> http://www.cluebot.com/article.pl?sid=00/10/15/1320206&mode=nested
>
>    Conservative Groups Oppose Library Filtering
>    posted by cicero on Sunday October 15, @08:13AM
>    from the it-can-happen-to-us-too dept.
>
>    A small selection of conservative groups has written to Congress
>    to oppose Internet filtering legislation. They're taking an
>    it-can-happen-to-us approach: "Filtering is not exclusive to
>    pornographic content; it can also be used to target First Amendment
>    protected speech... CyberPatrol, the largest filtering software
>    manufacturer, ruled that the American Family Association's web site
>    would be subject to filtering by their software program because of
>    their long-standing opposition to homosexual activism." The sensible
>    organizations signing last week's letter include the Free Congress
>    Foundation, Americans for Tax Reform, and some state groups. Note who
>    isn't there: Dogmatic national groups such as Focus on the Family, the
>    Family Research Council, and the American Family Association, who have
>    substantially different ideas. The proposal in Congress, which would
>    force such software on public libraries and schools that receive
>    federal funds, has been glued on to a must-pass spending bill. See the
>    letter below.
>
> The letter from the groups:
> http://www.cluebot.com/article.pl?sid=00/10/15/1320206&mode=nested