🚀 go-pugleaf

[A reply to an article in news.admin.policy]

jbotz@mtholyoke.edu (Jurgen Botz) writes:

[...]
>much of the material posted
>to alt.binaries.pictures.erotica is _illegal_ and therefor quite hard
>to defend.  (The illegality of this material stems from the fact that
>much of it is distributed in violation of copyright -- this means
>that it is illegal not only in the U.S., but in most of the world.
[...]

In my opinion, it is ok to exclude a newsgroup if it is illegal. I
think this position is supported by library policies. They say that 1)
laws should be obeyed 2) legal advice should obtained from compete
sources 3) restrictive laws should be challenged (with legal means) 4)
and that challenged material should be given due process.

Also note that in the U.S., material is not obscene unless when taken
as a whole, it lacks "serious literary, artistic, political, or
scientific value". In my opinion, alt.sex etc., when taken as a whole,
have such value. Copyright and libel laws don't use the "taken as a
whole" test. However, the case law suggests that if you don't know
(and can't reasonably be expected to know) about the violations, you
are not responsible for them.

As an example of what not to do, consider Iowa State University. It
decided to restrict alt.sex without previous notice or discussion.
When challenged it justified its action by referring to an obscenity
law that 1) says alt.sex is not obscene and 2) explicitly exempts
educational institutions.

I'm enclosing quotes from library polices, followed by on-line
references and information about the Computers and Academic Freedom
mailing list.

- Carl

================ Quotes from Library Policies =====================
From the American Library Associations Diversity in Collection
Development interpretation:

"Librarians have a professional responsibility to be inclusive, not exclusive,
in collection development and in the provision of interlibrary loan.  Access
to all materials legally obtainable should be assured to the user, and
policies should not unjustly exclude materials even if they are offensive to
the librarian or the user."

From the American Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Statement:

"4. With every available legal means, we will challenge laws or
   governmental action restricting or prohibiting the publication of
   certain materials or limiting free access to such materials.

        Our society has no place for legislative efforts to coerce the taste
        of its members, to restrict adults to reading matter deemed suitable
        only for children, or to inhibit the efforts of creative persons in
        their attempts to achieve artistic perfection. When we prevent serious
        artists from dealing with truth as they see it, we stifle creative
        endeavor at its source. Those who direct and control the intellectual
        development of our children -- parents, teachers, religious leaders,
        scientists, philosophers, statesman -- must assume the responsibility
        for preparing young people to cope with life as it is and to face the
        diversity of experience to which they will be exposed as they mature.
        This is an affirmative responsibility that cannot be discharged
        easily, certainly not with the added burden of curtailing one's access
        to art, literature, and opinion.  Tastes differ. Taste, like morality,
        cannot be controlled by government, for governmental action, devised
        to suit the demands of one group, thereby limits the freedom of all
        others."

From the American Library Association's Statement on Labeling:

"While some attempts have been made to adopt these [labeling] systems
into law, the constitutionality of such measures is extremely
questionable. If such legislation is passed which applies within a
library's jurisdiction, the library should seek competent legal advice
concerning its applicability to library operations."

From the ALA's Access for Children and Young People to Videotapes
and Other Nonprint Formats interpretation:

"Unless directly and specifically prohibited by law from circulating
certain motion pictures and video productions to minors, librarians
should apply the same standards to circulation of these materials as
are applied to books and other materials."

From the ALA's Library Bill of Rights:

"3.  Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their
responsibility to provide information and enlightenment."

From the ALA's Challenged Materials interpreation:

"Freedom of expression is protected by the Constitution of the United
States, but constitutionally protected expression is often separated
from unprotected expression only by a dim and uncertain line.  The
Constitution requires a procedure designed to focus searchingly on
challenged expression before it can be suppressed.  An adversary
hearing is a part of this procedure."

ANNOTATED REFERENCES

(All these documents are available on-line. Access information follows.)

=================
faq/netnews.liability
=================
Why a University may not decrease (and my increase) its likely
liability by screening Netnews for offensive articles and newsgroups.

=================
library/diversity.ala
=================
"Diversity in Collection Development"

An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights"

It says that collections should be inclusive, not exclusive. And that
materials should cover the needs and interest of all patrons. "This
includes materials that reflect political, economic, religious,
social, minority, and sexual issues."


=================
library/int-freedom.ala
=================
"Intellectual Freedom Statement"

An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights"

=================
library/labeling.ala
=================
"Statement on Labeling"

An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights"

It gives three reasons why labeling is bad. The first is that
"[l]abeling is an attempt to prejudice attitudes and as such, it is a
censor's tool."

=================
library/access.children.nonprint.ala
=================
"Access for Children and Young People to Videotapes and Other Nonprint
Formats"

An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights"

=================
library/bill-of-rights.ala
=================
The Library Bill of Rights from the American Library Association.

=================
library/challenged-materials.ala
=================
"Challenged Materials"

An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights"

=================
law/obscenity.iowa
=================
IOWA CODE CHAPTER 728 - OBSCENITY
It explicitly exempts public libraries and educational institutions.

=================
caf
=================
A description to the comp-academic-freedom-talk mailing list. It is a
free-forum for the discussion of questions such as: How should general
principles of academic freedom (such as freedom of expression, freedom
to read, due process, and privacy) be applied to university computers
and networks? How are these principles actually being applied? How can
the principles of academic freedom as applied to computers and
networks be defended?

=================
=================

These document(s) are available by anonymous ftp (the preferred
method) and by email. To get the file(s) via ftp, do an anonymous ftp
to ftp.eff.org (192.88.144.4), and get file(s):

  pub/academic/faq/netnews.liability
  pub/academic/library/diversity.ala
  pub/academic/library/int-freedom.ala
  pub/academic/library/labeling.ala
  pub/academic/library/access.children.nonprint.ala
  pub/academic/library/bill-of-rights.ala
  pub/academic/library/challenged-materials.ala
  pub/academic/law/obscenity.iowa
  pub/academic/caf

To get the file(s) by email, send email to archive-server@eff.org.
Include the line(s) (be sure to include the space before the file
name):

send acad-freedom/faq netnews.liability
send acad-freedom/library diversity.ala
send acad-freedom/library int-freedom.ala
send acad-freedom/library labeling.ala
send acad-freedom/library access.children.nonprint.ala
send acad-freedom/library bill-of-rights.ala
send acad-freedom/library challenged-materials.ala
send acad-freedom/law obscenity.iowa
send acad-freedom caf
--
Carl Kadie -- kadie@cs.uiuc.edu -- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign