For Immediate Release
(for contact info, see end of release)

San Francisco - January 23, 2001

A network of concerned organizations and prominent individuals today released a joint statement opposing legislative requirements for school and library Internet blocking technologies.

The statement came in response to legislation, signed into law as part of an omnibus appropriations bill on December 21, 2000, which requires all public schools and libraries participating in certain federal programs to install Internet blocking technologies. The U.S. Congress passed the blocking requirement contrary to the recommendations of a commission studying the technology that was established as part of the earlier Child Online Protection Act legislation.

Endorsers of the joint statement urged parents, teachers, librarians, and administrators to adopt educational methods that assist young people in learning to use the Internet safely and effectively to enhance their education. The joint statement also expressed support for legal challenges such as those recently announced by the ACLU, the American Library Association, and People for the American Way Foundation.

In addition to researching and publishing educational materials on blocking technologies for parents, teachers, librarians, administrators, and the general public, organizations participating in the statement are collecting reports on the use of filtering and blocking technologies in schools and libraries. The network will communicate through email lists set up particularly for discussion of school and library blocking technology issues.

Will Doherty, Executive Director of the Online Policy Group, said, "We have joined together to oppose Internet blocking requirements because the technology underblocks what it is supposed to filter, overblocks what it is not supposed to block, relies on subjective 'expert' control, rather than on local community standards, is error-prone, vulnerable, problematic, and unfairly discriminatory, denying access to constitutionally protected and educationally important materials that schools and libraries would otherwise provide."

Ralph G. Neas, president of People For the American Way Foundation, added, "We believe government-mandated censorship does not solve problems better handled through local decision-making and educational efforts and we have committed to sharing effective strategies to assist young people in learning to use the Internet safely and effectively to enhance their education."

The ACLU noted that many people who use libraries for Internet access are those not rich enough to own a home computer. "The blocking software law has a discriminatory effect on communities of color, whose use of library computers to access the Internet is central to bridging the 'digital divide,'" said Ann Beeson, an ACLU staff attorney.

Endorsers of the statement include the American Civil Liberties Union, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the First Amendment Project, NetAction, the Online Policy Group, Peacefire, People for the American Way Foundation, and other individuals and organizations.

Organizations and individuals who wish to add their endorsement to the joint statement and participate in networking efforts opposed to school and library Internet blocking legislation may email statement@onlinepolicy.org for more information.

A copy of the joint statement, and other related resources, is available at
http://www.onlinepolicy.org/network/statement.htm

Contact:

Emily Whitfield, American Civil Liberties Union
212-549-2566, ewhitfield@aclu.org

Karen Coyle, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
510-987-0567, kcoyle@kcoyle.net

Shari Steele, Electronic Frontier Foundation
415-436-9333 x103, ssteele@eff.org

David Greene, First Amendment Project
510-208-7744, dgreene@thefirstamendment.org

Will Doherty, Online Policy Group
415-826-3532, doherty@onlinepolicy.org

Bennett Haselton, Peacefire
425-649-9024, bennett@peacefire.org

Nancy Coleman or Melissa Dorfman, People for the American Way Foundation, Media Relations
202-467-4999, ncoleman@pfaw.org or mdorfman@pfaw.org