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E-Rate and Filtering: a Review of the Children's Internet Protection

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E-Rate and Filtering: a Review of the Children's Internet Protection E-RATE AND FILTERING: A REVIEW OF THE CHILDREN’S INTERNET PROTECTION ACT HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND THE INTERNET OF THE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION APRIL 4, 2001 Serial No. 107–33 Printed for the use of the Committee on Energy and Commerce ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/house U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 72–836CC WASHINGTON : 2001 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 15:00 Oct 02, 2001 Jkt 075287 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 E:\HEARINGS\72836 pfrm09 PsN: 72836 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 15:00 Oct 02, 2001 Jkt 075287 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 E:\HEARINGS\72836 pfrm09 PsN: 72836 COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE W.J. ‘‘BILLY’’ TAUZIN, Louisiana, Chairman MICHAEL BILIRAKIS, Florida JOHN D. DINGELL, Michigan JOE BARTON, Texas HENRY A. WAXMAN, California FRED UPTON, Michigan EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts CLIFF STEARNS, Florida RALPH M. HALL, Texas PAUL E. GILLMOR, Ohio RICK BOUCHER, Virginia JAMES C. GREENWOOD, Pennsylvania EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York CHRISTOPHER COX, California FRANK PALLONE, Jr., New Jersey NATHAN DEAL, Georgia SHERROD BROWN, Ohio STEVE LARGENT, Oklahoma BART GORDON, Tennessee RICHARD BURR, North Carolina PETER DEUTSCH, Florida ED WHITFIELD, Kentucky BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois GREG GANSKE, Iowa ANNA G. ESHOO, California CHARLIE NORWOOD, Georgia BART STUPAK, Michigan BARBARA CUBIN, Wyoming ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York JOHN SHIMKUS, Illinois TOM SAWYER, Ohio HEATHER WILSON, New Mexico ALBERT R. WYNN, Maryland JOHN B. SHADEGG, Arizona GENE GREEN, Texas CHARLES ‘‘CHIP’’ PICKERING, Mississippi KAREN MCCARTHY, Missouri VITO FOSSELLA, New York TED STRICKLAND, Ohio ROY BLUNT, Missouri DIANA DEGETTE, Colorado TOM DAVIS, Virginia THOMAS M. BARRETT, Wisconsin ED BRYANT, Tennessee BILL LUTHER, Minnesota ROBERT L. EHRLICH, Jr., Maryland LOIS CAPPS, California STEVE BUYER, Indiana MICHAEL F. DOYLE, Pennsylvania GEORGE RADANOVICH, California CHRISTOPHER JOHN, Louisiana CHARLES F. BASS, New Hampshire JANE HARMAN, California JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania MARY BONO, California GREG WALDEN, Oregon LEE TERRY, Nebraska DAVID V. MARVENTANO, Staff Director JAMES D. BARNETTE, General Counsel REID P.F. STUNTZ, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel SUBCOMMITTEE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND THE INTERNET FRED UPTON, Michigan, Chairman MICHAEL BILIRAKIS, Florida EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts JOE BARTON, Texas BART GORDON, Tennessee CLIFF STEARNS, Florida BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois Vice Chairman ANNA G. ESHOO, California PAUL E. GILLMOR, Ohio ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York CHRISTOPHER COX, California GENE GREEN, Texas NATHAN DEAL, Georgia KAREN MCCARTHY, Missouri STEVE LARGENT, Oklahoma BILL LUTHER, Minnesota BARBARA CUBIN, Wyoming BART STUPAK, Michigan JOHN SHIMKUS, Illinois DIANA DEGETTE, Colorado HEATHER WILSON, New Mexico JANE HARMAN, California CHARLES ‘‘CHIP’’ PICKERING, Mississippi RICK BOUCHER, Virginia VITO FOSSELLA, New York SHERROD BROWN, Ohio TOM DAVIS, Virginia TOM SAWYER, Ohio ROY BLUNT, Missouri JOHN D. DINGELL, Michigan, ROBERT L. EHRLICH, Jr., Maryland (Ex Officio) LEE TERRY, Nebraska W.J. ‘‘BILLY’’ TAUZIN, Louisiana (Ex Officio) (II) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 15:00 Oct 02, 2001 Jkt 075287 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6011 Sfmt 0486 E:\HEARINGS\72836 pfrm09 PsN: 72836 C O N T E N T S Page Testimony of: Caywood, Carolyn A., Librarian, Bayside Area Library, Virginia Beach Public Library ............................................................................................... 33 Getgood, Susan J., Vice President, Education Market, Surfcontrol ............. 38 Johnson, Marvin J., Legislative Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union . 9 Morgan, Laura G., Librarian, Chicago Public Library .................................. 25 Ophus, Christian, President, FamilyConnect, Inc ......................................... 44 Taylor, Bruce A., President and Chief Counsel, National Law Center for Children and Families ............................................................................ 20 Material submitted for the record by: Johnson, Marvin J., Legislative Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union: Letter dated April 5, 2001, to Hon. Fred Upton ..................................... 94 Letter dated April 5, 2001, to Hon. Edward Markey ............................. 94 (III) 2 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 15:00 Oct 02, 2001 Jkt 075287 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 E:\HEARINGS\72836 pfrm09 PsN: 72836 E-RATE AND FILTERING: A REVIEW OF THE CHILDREN’S INTERNET PROTECTION ACT WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2001 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND THE INTERNET, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:05 a.m., in room 2322, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Fred Upton (chairman) presiding. Members present: Representatives Upton, Stearns, Largent, Shimkus, Pickering, Blunt, Terry, Markey, Green, McCarthy, Lu- ther, Harman, and Sawyer. Staff present: Mike O’Rielly, majority professional staff; Brendan Kelsay, minority counsel; and Yong Choe, legislative clerk. Mr. UPTON. All right. We will start. Good morning. The sub- committee will now come to order. Today’s hearing is on the Chil- dren’s Internet Protection Act, otherwise known as ‘‘CIPA’’ or ‘‘CHIPA.’’ On April 20, CHIPA is to be implemented by the FCC, and there have been several recent lawsuits filed in Federal Court chal- lenging the constitutionality of the law, and seeking to block its im- plementation as it pertains to public libraries. I support the goal of CHIPA. In my view, the taxpayers should not be required to fund obscenity or child pornography, or any means of accessing it. Nobody should be able to use publicly funded library computers to access obscene pictures or child pornography. And libraries should be responsible for protecting children from this material and other material which is harmful to them, period. Under CHIPA, E-rate funding to public libraries and schools will be conditioned upon their deployment of technology, which will pre- vent children from accessing visual depictions that are obscene, child pornography, or other visual depictions that are otherwise harmful to minors. Libraries and schools which do not comply will lose their E-rate funding. Moreover, CHIPA requires schools and libraries which re- ceive E-rate funding to adopt and implement broad Internet safety policies, which should address access by minors to inappropriate matter on the Internet. The safety and security of minors when using E-mail and chap rooms, hacking by minors, unauthorized disclosure of personal and identifying information regarding minors, and measures designed to restrict minors’ access to material that is harmful to them. (1) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 15:00 Oct 02, 2001 Jkt 075287 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 E:\HEARINGS\72836 pfrm09 PsN: 72836 2 As the parent of two young kids who use the Internet, I know well the wonderful educational opportunities which the Internet brings to them. However, I also know the fear that all parents have about their kids being unwittingly exposed to smut on the Internet, particularly when parents may not be around, like at the library and at the school. Primarily at issue in today’s hearing is the use of the Internet in public libraries. Our public libraries are among our communities most valuable assets. Unlike movie theaters and video arcades, public libraries are supposed to be where parents can send their kids to learn in an environment where they have access to only safe and appropriate materials. By and large I believe that our Nation’s libraries take very seri- ously their responsibilities to protect kids. For example, I recently visited the Kalamazoo Public Library in my district, and I know that they have a terrific computer facility, complete with Internet access. Through a system of user identification cards, acceptable use rules, and computer screens which are all in one place, where they can be seen by an effective monitoring staff, there are very few in- cidents of inappropriate material being accessed by library users. Those limited few who break the rules get caught and get their privileges yanked. The system as I have watched it, I know is working well in Kalamazoo. Nevertheless, CHIPA is the law, and the practical question is whether filtering and blocking technologies are able to provide an optimal level of protection for all of our Na- tion’s public libraries, particularly where library systems and staff monitors are not as effective as they certainly are in Kalamazoo. Among others, the ACLU and the American Library Association have filed suit in Federal Court challenging the constitutionality of the law as it pertains to libraries. I am not a lawyer and so I won’t venture a guess as to how the court might come down. However, as a parent, and a taxpayer, and a believer in public libraries, and a supporter of the E-rate system which helps them provide computers and Internet access to those who might not oth- erwise have it, I believe we need to better understand the legal and practical arguments on both sides of the litigation, not to mention the promises and shortcomings that filtering and blocking tech- nologies represent at this time. I look forward to hearing from today’s panel of witnesses. I ap- preciate their willingness to help
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