John Schultz's Pathfinder

CHIPA: Is it more of a hassle than its worth?

Although the Internet has been available for some years now, heavy usage in homes, schools and libraries is a recent phenomena. Along with the research and "good" information available on the Internet, comes material that most people would deem "unsafe" for their children. But how do we go about protecting our children and the minds of the future? On December 21, 2000, Congress signed into law the Children's Internet Protection Act (CHIPA) (Sometimes referred to as CIPA). After its effective date of April 20, 2001, all public libraries receiving e-rate discounts (which corresponds to an extremely large number of libraries) or funds under the Library Services Technology Act (LSTA) must implement and enforce technology protection measures to block "obscenity, child pornography and material harmful to minors." The difficulty with the enforcement of this act is that there are a multitude of definitions for what is "harmful to minors." Some would consider a number of modern music videos to be harmful, while another person may decide that hate group web sites are harmful. Without a clear-cut line, the arguments could go on forever.

After lengthy Internet searching, visiting multiple local libraries, and logging into a large array of databases, I have concluded that this topic is best covered on the medium that it discusses; the web. The following links will hopefully help to lead you in the right direction when searching out the arguments over the effectiveness of CHIPA. Does CHIPA work to protect the children of our society? Are we being over or under-protective by trying to enforce such a law? Can the law be enforced? Some may even argue the Constitutionality of CHIPA. Although the US government has determined the law to be Constitutional, organizations and individuals may have a different viewpoint.

Before reading about the viewpoints of others, you may want to work on forming your own. Take a look at the law directly; word-for-word. That's the law. Although some of it may seem confusing, as laws tend to be, read it one section at a time. Now that you have an idea as to what Congress thinks the CHIPA should do, let's take a look at some organizations that have spent years and millions of dollars testing the equipment and software that CHIPA wants libraries to use. Be careful in the use of these sites. Although all are rather extensive and are reliable to a degree, they also have their own views and opinions which can get in way of completely objective thinking and evaluation. (Let me warn you in advance. All of the resources listed here are online websites and databases. Luckily none of them require subscriptions. Because of the recent nature of the law, most material will be found on the Internet)

Consumer Reports Magazine
Bear with me for a moment here. They have no affiliation with public libraries, but they have extensive funds and resources to help test various blocking software which can be used to fulfill CHIPA's requirements. There are a couple of areas you may want to browse on this site, but all the related information is a direct link from the following site:
-Which Internet filters protect the best? Which get in the way?

There are two main opposing sides; the American or Public Library Associations, and the parents.

American Library Association
This site tends to be rather one-sided (as you may expect), but is rather extensive, with search tools and all. As one of the major players in the debate over CHIPA, this is a must for researchers.
-CIPA Homepage on the ALA site

Public Library Association
Once again, a rather one-sided site, but one must look at both sides.
-One of the better explanations of the technical background involved with web filtering. If you know very little about computer jargon and web design, you may want to consult a friend or colleague who can help.

American Civil Liberties Union
For those of us who have personal beliefs that contradict and clash with the ACLU's views, we must try to be objective when browsing this site. They take a strong stand for "free speech" and contend that CHIPA is in violation of the First Amendment (very simply put, however they do have an official statement).
-One of many statements given to Congress by the ACLU about the effectiveness of CHIPA. This one is very extensive and in-depth.

The American Prospect
Although not officially connected with the ACLU, the editors and writers for this magazine hold similar views on free-speech. One well-written article found helped to spur some ideas on where to go from here.

National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC)
This one's pretty self-explanatory. No point going into detail about who they support. The site can get a bit wordy and difficult to navigate, but the information is all there if necessary.

Christian Law Association
The other side of the issue. They hold that although CHIPA is not the end-all-and-be-all of Internet protection, it's better than nothing. Not quite as much background information about the CHIPA law, but publishes articles and reading material offering a Christian and parental viewpoint of CHIPA.

National PTA
Although they do not support blocking software and CHIPA on a national level, they propose local control of Internet access in public libraries and schools. They also offer another link to the word-for-word laws discussed.

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
There official statement (as of December 2000) can be read here, but the rest of the web site is something worth reading into. The actual Internet Blocking homepage seems to be here.

A final source to be searched is the EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center) Web site. Their viewpoints are strongly liberal and back the ACLU, but their databases scour both sides of the issue (one more than the other). A rather long list of Congressional speeches and reports can be accessed through this site.

Congressional Quarterly is a world-reknowned magazine in print and online. They include much scholarly information and are known to be very reliable. One of the most comprehensive articles I have found so far is entitled, "Libraries and the Internet". Although not very printer friendly (entirely too long), the online version links to various other statistics that many other sources fail to use.

A similar catalog search site is EBSCO Host, which has many magazines, etc. to browse.
-Justice Department Defends CIPA - (You are unable to receive a direct URL to the article, but a search using the term "CIPA" will bring up many such articles. relating to the topic.)Short article, but you must find out the Justice Department's take on the topic.
-The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) - This article is written by a librarian in Virginia. Once again, it helps to discover the views of the people in the debate, librarians, teachers, administrators and students.

This would be a never-ending page if every article written on the subject was posted. I have tried to pick and choose specific organizations and sites that offer strong viewpoints and reviews on filtering software. If you would like a technical research area for the effectiveness of CHIPA, be sure to also contact your Network Administrator or computer technician, as they have probably had experience with filters and firewalls, etc. With the small amount of knowledge that I have on the detailed world of web programming, I have found great resource in a friend who teaches computer programming at a local college. Although no one site offered me all the information I need, search engines seem to be the best place to begin. (My personal recommendation is always GOOGLE, as they seem to bring the most relevant and direct sources to the top of the list.) I hope this has given you a starting point for your research, and good look in your quest.