Children's Internet Protection Act of 2000 (CIPA)

The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was enacted by Congress in 2000. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is responsible for its implementation. CIPA compels public schools and libraries receiving federal funding for Internet access to install a “technology protection measure” on each computer that connects to the Internet; they are also required to have a formal Internet safety policy.

The motivation for CIPA is to block children from accessing inappropriate sexual content online. Specifically, the law requires visual depictions that are obscene, contain child pornography, or are harmful to minors to be filtered on computers in public school and libraries. Textual content is not covered by CIPA. Obscenity and child pornography are not protected by the First Amendment in any medium, but the provision of blocking material that is harmful to minors is new. The law provides a definition of what material is “harmful to minors”: depictions of nudity, sex, or excretion that, when taken as a whole, are presented in a “patently offensive” way and are determined to lack “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value as to minors.” Critics of the law charge that this definition is still too broad and subject to inconsistent application.

Most schools and libraries fulfill the obligation for a technology protection measure by installing a software program capable of filtering access to offending content. The law makes clear, though, that authorized personnel must be willing and able to disable the filter program when requested by an adult. Critics of the filter requirement argue that existing filters are a form of censorship that blocks a vast amount of valuable information along with pornography. Supporters of CIPA, however, argue that excessive blocking presents minimal danger when compared to the risks of allowing children unfettered access to the Internet. Another argument in support of filters is the protection of libraries and librarians. The presence of filters [Page 162]is seen as a preventative action against potential lawsuits regarding children's access to inappropriate materials.

CIPA advocates also point out that public libraries and schools can opt out of the requirement by foregoing public funding for technology updates. In U.S. v. American Library Association, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed, ruling CIPA constitutional because a school or library can opt out. Opponents counter that libraries in areas of poverty cannot provide Internet access unless they receive government support. Fewer people in these areas have home Internet access and therefore rely on public libraries for access.

The Internet safety policies required by CIPA address a broader range of computer-related issues. These policies must encompass access to inappropriate materials on the Internet, but they also must have provisions for handling security issues, for protecting children's privacy, and for dealing with children's use of computers for illegal activity (e.g., hacking into another computer system).