Does Filtering Stop the Flow of Valuable Information?: A Case Study of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) in South Dakota

8 Pages Posted: 27 Mar 2009

See all articles by Candice Spurlin

Candice Spurlin

University of South Dakota Law School

Patrick M. Garry

University of South Dakota - School of Law

Date Written: March 26, 2009

Abstract

In response to the public's request to protect children from the ever growing body of pornographic material available on the Internet, the United States Congress has made a number of legislative attempts "to shield children from Internet smut." In 2000, Congress changed from a prohibition mentality to a filtering mentality, and the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act.

The filtering requirements of the CIPA present one of the first successful governmental efforts to help parents protect their children from harmful Internet material. However, the lingering issue is whether that filtering effort, as alleged by the CIPA opponents, unduly restricts the free speech rights of adults. A study was designed to determine how often adults were denied access to information at South Dakota public libraries using the federal E-rate program as a filter on library terminals.

Suggested Citation

Spurlin, Candice J. and Garry, Patrick M., Does Filtering Stop the Flow of Valuable Information?: A Case Study of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) in South Dakota (March 26, 2009). South Dakota Law Review, Vol. 54, No. 1, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1368900

Candice J. Spurlin (Contact Author)

University of South Dakota Law School ( email )

414 E. Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069
United States

Patrick M. Garry

University of South Dakota - School of Law ( email )

414 E. Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069
United States

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