CIPA-dee-do-dah

Like all librarians I am required by ALA regulation to have an opinion on CIPA, also know as The Children's Internet Protection Act. Now, I think that protecting the Internet from children is a noble cause, but acting as Boxcar Research Assistant caused me to actually read the text of the law.

The short version is that schools and libraries are required to install filtering software on computers used to access the Internet so that unaccountable private companies with dubious political agendas can censor the net children are not inadvertantly or deliberately exposed to pornography at the library.

These filters are called TECHNOLOGY PROTECTION MEASURES [The caps are sic and wrong.] The law states that "The term ``technology protection measure'' means a specific technology that blocks or filters Internet access to visual depictions that are-"
...
(C) harmful to minors."

One way in which "harmful to minors" is defined is:
"any picture, image, graphic image file, or other visual depiction that--
...(C) taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value as to minors."

Hm. Taken as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value to minors, eh? This clause seems to cover a great deal of content. The DaVinci Code, for example, I would have no problem arguing lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value to anyone, especially minors. I realize that it's not a picture, but you see where I'm going with this.

According to my reading, CIPA permits children in public libraries to access only graphics that have value. No more Garfield cartoons is what *that* means. This opens up a whole new branch of librarianship, doesn't it?