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Supreme Upholds Library Censorship
Jun. 24th, 2003 09:38 amCheck out the story on the BBC-- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3014490.stm
Why is this a problem, you may ask? Because, the whole purpose of public libraries, and the reason that governments fund them, is to provide easy access to all sorts of learning to the public. All of the public. Especially the part of it too poor to get hold of literature, reference, and specialized sources any other way. By requiring libraries to use blocking software, the federal government is forcing libraries to restrict the access of adult patrons to material that might be inappropriate for children, quite literally infantilizing them. It leaves patrons at the mercy of the idiosyncrasies of whichever blocking software is used, and may well prevent them from viewing websites which the creators of the software did not intend to be blocked out. If knowledge is power, then cutting off public access to it is surely an important step towards tyranny.
Why is this a problem, you may ask? Because, the whole purpose of public libraries, and the reason that governments fund them, is to provide easy access to all sorts of learning to the public. All of the public. Especially the part of it too poor to get hold of literature, reference, and specialized sources any other way. By requiring libraries to use blocking software, the federal government is forcing libraries to restrict the access of adult patrons to material that might be inappropriate for children, quite literally infantilizing them. It leaves patrons at the mercy of the idiosyncrasies of whichever blocking software is used, and may well prevent them from viewing websites which the creators of the software did not intend to be blocked out. If knowledge is power, then cutting off public access to it is surely an important step towards tyranny.
