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Saturday, October 21, 2000

Web filter bill comes under fire

White House wants only local smut laws

Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The White House is pressing Congress to soften an initiative that would require schools and libraries to use filtering software to keep children from seeing objectionable Internet sites. It suggests that such decisions be left to local authorities.
   Polls show Americans want children protected from Web smut, however, and Republicans in Congress are leaving little room for change. They note the legislation has bipartisan support.
   "Everyone in the House supports this," said John Albaugh, chief of staff for Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla., one of the measure's sponsors. "I don't believe that this is an item that anyone's going to move on in the House."
   Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a co-sponsor of the effort, also was defiant.
   The legislation is attached to a federal spending bill Congress must pass before adjourning.
   The White House is pressing to change the language that mandates filters in public libraries and schools and to let communities choose the best way to protect their children. "We would favor requiring schools and libraries to develop their own plans," White House spokesman Elliot Diringer said. "We think it should be left to the community's discretion."
   If signed, the law would require communities to install Internet filtering software in schools and libraries to block out World Wide Web sites with explicit images, hate speech or other objectionable content.
   If they failed to do so, the institutions would get no federal money for Internet access.
  
  

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