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Internet filtering is a routine practice in public schools and libraries. The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) does not require that all schools and libraries install filters, only those that accept certain types of federal funds or discounts for the provision of Internet access. Although CIPA grants these institutions the flexibility to develop filtering policies appropriate to their communities, many institutions are filtering well beyond the requirements of the law. Schools, in particular, do not limit filtering to visual images as the law mandates, and routinely block access to broad swaths of information that all users are entitled to view (Chmara 20I0). Increasingly, schools block access to entire social-media and socialnetworking sites and to any websites that are interactive or collaborative, such as blogs or wikis (AASL 2012). They also rely (mistakenly) on filtering to deal with issues of hacking, copyright infringement, and cyberbullying, denying access to certain websites and technologies. The American Library Association's Office for Information Technology Policy and Office for Intellectual Freedom, with support from Google, Inc., recently conducted a study to investigate, in part, the broader impact of CIPA on achieving educational and social objectives for the twenty-first century. Drawing on extensive research, interviews, and input from over thirty experts and practitioners, the study Fencing Out Knowledge: Impacts of the Children's Internet Protection Act 10 Years Later identified an overreach in the implementation of CIPA. This overreach restricts access to information and learning opportunities for students, and disproportionately impacts those without a home broadband connection or smartphone. This article summarizes the main findings from the report and four recommendations for actions the ALA should undertake to help schools and libraries align filtering practices with the requirements of the law.
Factors Contributing to the Overimplementation of CIPA
CIPA requires schools and libraries that accept federal funds or discounts for the provision of Internet access to use software filters to block access to visual images deemed "obscene," "child pornography," or "harmful to minors" (CIPA2000). Despite the narrow mandate of the law and the risk of legal challenges for blocking legitimate content, implementation of CIPA is often subject to overreaction, myth, and fear. Misperceptions abound that institutions will lose all their federal funding if they do not filter as much as possible, or that...