Issue 77, Spring 2000
A ballot issue in Holland, Michigan to require the public library to filter all computers or lose city funding was roundly defeated. The initiative was financed by the American Family Association and the Family Research Council which hoped to spark a national movement to censor library and school computers to prevent minors from accessing materials that are “obscene, sexually explicit, or harmful,” whatever that may mean. Libraries in nearby Birmingham, Hudsonville and Midland have also been under attack. Filtering bills are pending in many places, including Pennsylvania and Florida.
NCAC opposes the government deciding for individuals what they can see or read and opposes private groups imposing their views on everyone else. Filters often fail to block as advertised, and inevitably block valuable and useful information. For NCAC’s briefing paper on The Cyber-Library, click here.