ACLU DEMANDS KERN COUNTY REMOVE LIBRARY INTERNET BLOCKERS.Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer The American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. is threatening to sue Kern County if Internet blocking software See Web filtering and parental control software. is not removed from county libraries, saying it blocks speech protected by the First Amendment. In a letter to County Counsel Bernard Barmann, the ACLU ACLU: see American Civil Liberties Union. demanded the removal of the filtering software known as BESS Bess Porgy’s “temporary” woman; she knew weakness of her will and flesh. [Am. Lit.: Porgy, Magill I, 764–766; Am. Opera: Gershwin, Porgy and Bess] See : Lust within the next 10 days or face litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. . The ACLU said it would file a lawsuit on behalf of library patrons and speakers whose sites are being blocked. ``This filtering system doesn't work,'' said Peter Eliasberg, an attorney with the ACLU of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . ``They can't tailor this software to make it constitutional.'' Barmann said he will discuss the issue with the county's Board of Supervisors, probably at the board's Tuesday meeting. Barmann said the county has been working with a private company to try to make the software conform to Verb 1. conform to - satisfy a condition or restriction; "Does this paper meet the requirements for the degree?" fit, meet coordinate - be co-ordinated; "These activities coordinate well" state laws regarding material harmful to minors, but it hasn't worked as well as expected. ``I think the county has tried to walk the line between the First Amendment and running its local libraries. It's hasn't been easy,'' Barmann said of the situation. The county decided in July 1996 to require filtering software on its libraries' computers that provide Internet access. The decision came after a Rosamond mother became alarmed when she discovered minors were using the computer to view pornography. The filtering system is blocking a wide variety of material, Eliasberg said, including sites providing information on preventing domestic violence and sexual abuse, sites discussing censorship issues, and sites with U.S. Supreme Court rulings on obscenity. ``For over a year the county has been blocking access to many sites on the Internet that are valuable and constitutionally protected both for adults and minors,'' ACLU national staff attorney Ann Beeson wrote to Barmann. ``The censorship of online resources through the use of filters violates the First Amendment rights of adult and minor patrons of the library, as well as the First Amendment rights of the Internet speakers whose sites are blocked.'' Libraries should provide information, Eliasberg said. The role of determining what material a minor views should be left to the parent. ``Parents need to take the supervisory role,'' Eliasberg said. |
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