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Politech is the oldest Internet resource devoted to politics and technology. Launched in 1994 by Declan McCullagh, the mailing list has chronicled the growing intersection of culture, technology, politics, and law. Since 2000, so has the Politech web site.
I've placed photos from today's Supreme Court arguments over the "Children's Internet Protection Act" up at mccullagh.org. There's the American Library Association and American Civil Liberties Union lawyers: http://www.mccullagh.org/theme/cipa-supreme-court-mar03.html And the anti-porn advocates on the other side: http://www.mccullagh.org/theme/cipa-antiporn-supreme-court-mar03.html Here's Rep. Ernest Istook (R-Ok): http://www.mccullagh.org/image/d30-34/ernest-istook-cipa.html Who was there with an aide handing out the below press release. Here's one from the Family Research Council too: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030305/phw016_1.html Oh, and here's what happened inside: http://news.com.com/2100-1028-991199.html -Declan --- http://www.house.gov/istook/Libfiltr.htm IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 05, 2003 Contact: Micah Swafford 202-225-2132 Istook Says Filtering Crucial to Future of Public Libraries Washington, DC -- Congressman Ernest Istook (R-OK) today attended oral arguments before the Supreme Court regarding the constitutionality of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). "What's at stake in this case is the future of America's public libraries," said Istook, the principal author of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). "If the Supreme Court rules that libraries must provide access to all materials, then our libraries will become nothing more than glorified government-funded adult bookstores. We support libraries with tax dollars because they provide valuable information and education materials. If libraries aren't allowed to protect kids, we have to question if we should use tax dollars to support them." Istook was formerly the chairman of the Metropolitan Library System Board in Oklahoma City. He expressed confidence that the Supreme Court would uphold the law. "The solicitor general made an excellent case," said Istook. "It's common sense that we shouldn't use taxpayers' money to subsidize children's access to Internet pornography. Time and again the Supreme Court has agreed that we can put reasonable restrictions on how we spend taxpayer's money, especially in situations like this. This law doesn't censor anything, but it does refuse to subsidize pornography that's aimed at kids." CIPA requires that public libraries install filters to block obscenity on computers paid for with federal funds to which children have access. CIPA became law in December 2000, when Istook successfully attached it as a rider on an appropriations bill. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the American Library Association (ALA) filed suit against the law in March 2001 claiming that it would censor constitutionally-protected speech. In May 2002, a three-judge Philadelphia appellate court struck down the law. Today, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in United States v. American Library Association to decide whether or not they will overturn the Philadelphia court's decision. -30- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------