And addendum to the Communications Act of 1934 (see also juvenile crime bill)) created by the predominantly republican 254th U.S.Congress simply it states that No universal service for schools or libraries that fail to implement a filtering or blocking technology for computers with internet access.

For Schools this means:
"A technology for computers with Internet access to filter or block:
--child pornographic materials
--obscene materials
--during use by minors, materials deemed to be harmful to minors
--installed, or will install, and uses or will use, as soon as it obtains computers with Internet access, a technology to filter or block such material."

For Libraries:
" To be eligible to receive universal service assistance a library shall certify to the Commission that it has:
selected a technology for computers with Internet access to filter or block--
--child pornographic materials
--obscene materials
-- during use by minors, materials deemed to be harmful to minors.
--installed, or will install, and uses or will use, as soon as it obtains computers with Internet access, a technology to filter or block such material."


unfortunately there is no internet blocking technology in existence yet that can block such sites without blocking a substantial portion of the rest of the web as well. Many people think this bill inhibits the freedom of the internet and it is being challenged by Librarians and Internet freedom activists even as we speak (March 2001)

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