United States v. American Library Assn.
A group of libraries, library associations, library patrons, and Web site
publishers brought suit in federal district court against the United States
alleging that the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is facially unconstitutional
because it induces public libraries to violate their patrons' First Amendment
rights. CIPA makes the use of filters by a public library a condition of its
receipt of two kinds of subsidies: grants under the Library Services and Technology
Act, and ”E-rate discounts” for Internet access under the Telecommunications
Act. CIPA requires that libraries, in order to receive LSTA funds or E-rate
discounts, certify that they are using a ”technology protection measure”
that prevents patrons from accessing ”visual depictions” that are
”obscene,” ”child pornography,” or ”harmful to
minors.” Applying strict scrutiny analysis, a three-judge panel of the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania held that CIPA facially violates the First
Amendment because the required filtering software will block access to substantial
amounts of constitutionally protected speech whose suppression serves no legitimate
government interest. The court also found that less restrictive alternatives
exist that further the government's legitimate interest in preventing the dissemination
of obscenity, child pornography, and material harmful to minors, and in preventing
patrons from being unwillingly exposed to patently offensive, sexually explicit
content.
Question Presented:
The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), provides that a library that
is otherwise eligible for special federal assistance for Internet access in
the form of discount rates for educational purposes under the Telecommunications
Act of 1996, or grants under the Library Services and Technology Act, may not
receive that assistance unless the library has in place a policy that includes
the operation of a ”technology protection measure” on Internet-connected
computers that protects against access by all persons to ”visual depictions”
that are ”obscene” or ”child pornography,” and that
protects against access by minors to ”visual depictions” that are
”harmful to minors.”
The question presented is whether CIPA induces public libraries to violate
the First Amendment, thereby exceeding Congress's power under the Spending Clause.
Decision
under Review
Supreme Court Opinion
Commentary
Edited Case
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