opinion

Filtering Out Public Porn

On Monday, The United States Supreme Court, in a non-unanimous ruling, declared that Congress may compel public libraries to install anti-pornography filters on their computers, stating that the use of filters does not violate the First Amendment rights of patrons, despite the fact that many legitimate Web sites will also be affected by the use of this imperfect technology.

Supporting the belief that pornography in public libraries posed a serious problem, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of reinstating a law requiring libraries which receive federal funding to institute filtering software designed to block a minor's access to pornography. The government, which through various programs has funded the growth of Internet access in public libraries, was opposed to the use of these resources for the viewing of pornography – arguing that there should not be a special case made for computer access to any objectionable material, since neither ‘adult’ movies nor magazines are allowed in public libraries.

Last year, a three-judge panel in Pennsylvania determined that the Children's Internet Protection Act was unconstitutional, on the grounds that it forced libraries to act as censors – violating the First Amendment, and compounded by the fact that current filtering programs heavy-handedly block access to many non-pornographic materials. "A statutory blunderbuss that mandates this vast amount of over-blocking abridges the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment," wrote Justice John Paul Stevens, who along with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter felt that the legislation excessively restricted ‘legitimate’ informational materials.

Librarians in Opposition
The American Library Association (ALA) immediately expressed disappointment in the Supreme Court’s upholding of this aspect of the Children’s Internet Protection Act. “The decision, however, is very narrow in that Justices Kennedy and Breyer did not join Chief Justice Rehnquist's opinion, they only joined the judgment,” said Judith Krug, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. “Justices Kennedy and Breyer joined the judgment because they believe adult patrons need only ask the librarian to ‘please disable the filter’ and need not provide any reason for the request. In light of this, we expect libraries that decide they must accept filters to inform their patrons how easily the filters can be turned off.” Part of the opinion by Justice Kennedy mandates that filtering companies ensure that their products can be quickly and easily disabled at the request of adult library patrons.

The ease of use and efficacy of software filters has long been a sore spot for opponents, especially given the fact that manufacturer’s have been very reluctant to provide lists of banned sites, as well as information on banning criteria and the algorithms used to determine a Web site’s ‘acceptability’ to the filtering system. This is particularly troublesome since it has been shown that filter providers have not limited their product’s reach based upon the accepted legal definitions of “harmful to minors” and “obscenity.” According to the ALA, “Library users must be able to see what sites are being blocked and, if needed, be able to request the filter be disabled with the least intrusion into their privacy and the least burden on library service.”

The ALA will be taking steps to work with major filtering companies in the hopes that they will disclose the required data, and then “share the information with the thousands of libraries now being forced to forego funds or choose faulty filters.” The ALA will also assist libraries in selecting the most appropriate products and will provide information on deployment, usage, and policy setting, and “will do everything possible to support the governing bodies of these local institutions as they struggle with this very difficult decision” of either complying with a Congressional mandate, or of operating without federal funding.

The Big Picture and the Bottom Line
So what does this ruling really mean to adult Webmasters? Well, in a ‘Big Picture’ sort of way, any new legislation that limits access to adult materials would seem to be a blow against us, but I contend that this is simply not the case. First off, the law does not say “No Porn in Libraries!” It says “Public Libraries that want to accept public funding must use filters to prevent minors from accessing pornography…”

This is a good thing, as we don’t want children enjoying (or as our opponents would have you believe “being harmed by”) adult materials. Furthermore, the law also says “adults can turn the filter off to see whatever they want…” allowing consenting adult patrons to ‘easily’ access uncensored materials, while still shielding kids who do not have the benefit of caring parents (who are willing to exercise some personal responsibility and supervise their children’s use of the Internet) from potentially harmful materials. The more steps taken to keep kids from porn while allowing adults to have unfettered access, the longer our industry will survive.

But beyond these broader issues, should adult Webmasters (the folks who are paying to put porn on the Internet in hopes of turning a profit) really be concerned about public access in libraries? No, not really…

Personally, I don’t care if people (yes, including consenting adults) are able to access porn in public places (libraries, or otherwise). Why should I? Do you think that someone sitting in a library is going to pull out the plastic and join my wife’s pay site? If he did, the next thing he’d whip out would get him arrested! And even if he ‘got away with it’ – I’m not comfortable with the idea of perverts ‘banging one out’ in public at the library, or Starbucks, or Joe’s Internet Café or at a mall’s kiosk – in front of God and everybody – including children. THAT’s the sort of thing that harms our industry! And frankly, if he could afford a membership fee, he’d be able to afford a computer to enjoy his porn in the privacy of his own home…

So where does that leave the public library-bound porn fiend? Surfing link sites and TGPs, hoping for an anonymous free porn fix – being a bum and burning our bandwidth. I for one don’t need to be supporting another freeloader’s carnal cravings. Do you?

And that’s the bottom line: public library porn patrons are IMHO quite unlikely to be paying customers, and as such hold almost zero interest for me. Whether you agree or disagree – or have an opinion one way or another about filters in public libraries, post your comments on the thread below. ~ Stephen

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More Articles

opinion

The Search for Perfection in Your Payments Page

There has been a lot of talk about changes to cross sales and checkout pages. You have likely noticed that acquirers are now actively pushing back on allowing merchants to offer a negative option, upsell or any cross sales on payment pages.

Cathy Beardsley ·
opinion

Unpacking the Payment Card Industry's Latest Data Security Standard

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of requirements and guidelines that apply to all businesses that accept credit card payments, and is designed to ensure the security of those transactions.

Jonathan Corona ·
opinion

Compliance With State Age Verification Laws

During the past year, website operators have faced a slew of new state age verification laws entailing a variety of inconsistent compliance obligations.

Lawrence Walters ·
opinion

Merchants in Spotlight With Visa's VIRP

By now, most merchants know about the Visa Integrity Risk Program (VIRP) rolled out in spring 2023. The program is designed to ensure that acquirers and their designated agents — payment facilitators, independent sales organizations and wallets — maintain proper controls and oversight to prevent illegal transactions from entering the Visa payment system.

Cathy Beardsley ·
opinion

How to Know When Hosting Upgrades Are Really Needed

I was reminded about an annoyingly common experience that often frustrates website owners: upgrades. Sometimes, an upgrade of physical system resources like CPU, RAM or storage really is required to solve a problem or improve performance… but how do you know you’re not just being upsold?

Brad Mitchell ·
profile

WIA Profile: Natasha Inamorata

Natasha Inamorata was just a kid when she first picked up a disposable camera. She quickly became enamored with it and continued to shoot with whatever equipment she could afford. In her teens, she saved enough money to purchase a digital Canon ELPH, began taking portraits of her friends, shot an entire wedding on a point-and-shoot camera and edited the photos with Picnik.

Women in Adult ·
trends

Collab Nation: Top Creators Share Best Practices for Fruitful Co-Shoots

One of the fastest ways for creators to gain new subscribers and buyers, not to mention monetize their existing fan base, is to collaborate with other creators. The extra star power can multiply potential earnings, broaden brand reach and boost a creator’s reputation in the community.

Alejandro Freixes ·
opinion

Bridging Generational Divides in Payment Preferences

While Baby Boomers and Gen Xers tend to be most comfortable with the traditional payment methods to which they are accustomed, like cash and credit cards, the younger cohorts — Millennials and Gen Z — have veered sharply toward digital-first payment solutions.

Jonathan Corona ·
opinion

Legal and Business Safety for Creators at Trade Shows

As I write this, I am preparing to attend XBIZ Miami, which reminds me of attending my first trade show 20 years ago. Since then, I have met thousands of people from all over the world who were doing business — or seeking to do business — in the adult industry.

Corey D. Silverstein ·
opinion

Adding AI to Your Company's Tech Toolbox

Artificial intelligence is all the rage. Not only is AI all over the headlines, it is also top of mind for many company leadership teams, who find themselves asking, “How can this new tool help our company?”

Cathy Beardsley ·
Show More