ACLJ: Supreme Court Must Uphold Constitutionality of Children's Internet Protection Act.

Business Editors/Legal Writers

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 12, 2002

Library Filters Protect Our Children without Trampling

the First Amendment

The American Center for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, said today the Supreme Court has an important opportunity to safeguard children from online pornography at public libraries by upholding the constitutionality of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA).

"The First Amendment should not be used as a shield for pornographers at the expense of our children," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. "It is clear that public libraries have a compelling interest to protect the physical and psychological well being of children. The law does not require every computer in the library to be equipped with the filtering software. The law strikes a delicate balance between protecting children and permitting adults to use a filter-free Internet without trampling on the First Amendment. The law is a reasonable and constitutional way to protect children from online pornography in public libraries."

The Supreme Court agreed today to hear an appeal on the constitutionality of the Children's Internet Protection Act - signed into law by President Clinton in 2000 - which mandates that any public library that refuses to install Internet filtering software on its computers would become ineligible for federal funds for technology upgrades.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the American Library Association challenged the law. The Supreme Court will now review a ruling by a three-judge federal court panel in Philadelphia that determined the law violated the First Amendment.

Sekulow said the ACLJ will file a friend-of-the-court brief in the case in support of the federal government's position urging that the Supreme Court uphold the constitutionality of CIPA. Sekulow said the brief will be filed on behalf of the ACLJ and members of Congress. Sekulow appeared before a Senate committee in 1999 and testified in support of CIPA.

The American Center for Law and Justice is an international public interest law firm specializing in constitutional law. The ACLJ is headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA and its web site address is www.aclj.org.