[huridocs-tech] USA: Landmark trial on freedom of online speech

ACLU Online, April 2, 2002

In a landmark trial, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is urging a
federal court to permanently strike down a federal law that forces
libraries to censor constitutionally protected online speech.

"The government is choking off the free flow of information on the Internet
to the library patrons who need it the most," said Ann Beeson, a member of
the ACLU legal team that is arguing the case in U.S. District Court in
Philadelphia.

At issue in the case -- Multnomah County Library vs. United States of
America -- is the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). Passed in
December 2000, CIPA is a federal law that ties crucial library funding to
the mandated use of blocking programs on Internet terminals used in public
libraries.

The ACLU is representing Multnomah County and others. Joining the ACLU in
this critical lawsuit is the American Library Association, which filed a
similar challenge on behalf of its members. The two cases have been
consolidated by the court and are being heard together by a three-judge panel.

Click here to access the ACLU's comprehensive web collection for the case
(http://www.aclu.org/features/f032001a.html) that includes a list of the
daily trial witnesses and their bios, legal papers, expert reports and
examples of wrongly blocked Web sites.




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