Online Social Networking and Intellectual Freedom presented by ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom

ALA's Interactive Web Applications Wiki

OIF , ext

1.A brief description of interactive Web applications (including online social networking tools) 2.Legislation affecting access to these applications 3.Why denying access to these applications is an intellectual freedom issue 4.Online safety 5.What you can do

What are Interactive Web Applications?

What are Social Networking Sites?

DOPA Deleting Online Predators Act  Requires schools and libraries receiving federal E-rate discounts to block minors' access to many interactive web applications.

DOPA Deleting Online Predators Act  So broadly written it could affect access to instant messaging, online e- mail, wikis, blogs, and more.

DOPA Deleting Online Predators Act  Affects the intellectual freedom of all library users.

What’s wrong with DOPA?  Overly broad and unclear  Ignores value of IWAs  Education is the key  Local decision making preferable to federal laws  Unfairly targets poorest communities

What’s wrong with DOPA?  Overly broad and unclear

What’s wrong with DOPA?  Ignores value of IWAs

What’s wrong with DOPA?  Education is the key

What’s wrong with DOPA?  Local decision making preferable to federal laws

What’s wrong with DOPA?  Unfairly targets poorest communities

Interactive Web Applications and Intellectual Freedom

“A person's right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.” — Library Bill of Rights Library Bill of Rights

“Children and young adults unquestionably possess First Amendment rights, including the right to receive information in the library.”—Library Bill of Rights Interpretation: Free Access to Libraries for MinorsLibrary Bill of Rights Interpretation: Free Access to Libraries for Minors

“Constitutionally protected speech cannot be suppressed solely to protect children or young adults from ideas or images a legislative body believes to be unsuitable for them.”—Library Bill of Rights Interpretation: Free Access to Libraries for MinorsLibrary Bill of Rights Interpretation: Free Access to Libraries for Minors

“Librarians and library governing bodies should not resort to age restrictions in an effort to avoid actual or anticipated objections, because only a court of law can determine whether material is not constitutionally protected.”—Library Bill of Rights Interpretation: Free Access to Libraries for MinorsLibrary Bill of Rights Interpretation: Free Access to Libraries for Minors

Supreme Court decisions of note  Tinker v. Des Moines School Dist. Tinker v. Des Moines School Dist.  West Virginia Bd. of Ed. v. Barnette West Virginia Bd. of Ed. v. Barnette  Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville

“Speech that is neither obscene as to youths nor subject to some other legitimate proscription cannot be suppressed solely to protect the young from ideas or images that a legislative body thinks unsuitable for them. In most circumstances, the values protected by the First Amendment are no less applicable when government seeks to control the flow of information to minors..”—Erznoznik v. City of JacksonvilleErznoznik v. City of Jacksonville

“People are unlikely to become well- functioning, independent-minded adults and responsible citizens if they are raised in an intellectual bubble.”—American Amusement Machine Association, et al., v. Teri Kendrick, et al.American Amusement Machine Association, et al., v. Teri Kendrick, et al.

“Swimming pools can be dangerous for children. To protect them, one can install locks, put up fences, and deploy pool alarms. All these measures are helpful, but by far the most important thing that one can do for one's children is to teach them to swim.”—Youth, Pornography and the InternetYouth, Pornography and the Internet

Especially for Young People and Their Parents

“[S]chools and libraries should be encouraging kids to use blogging and social networking services. They have enormous educational potential... but even if not used as part of a formal supervised education program, they encourage kids to communicate and reach out to others.”— Larry Magid, House Misfires on Internet SafetyHouse Misfires on Internet Safety

What You Can Do  Contacting elected officials about issuesContacting elected officials about issues  YALSA’s Teen Tech Week siteYALSA’s Teen Tech Week site  Create a profile for your libraryCreate a profile for your library  YALSA’s Social Networking ToolkitYALSA’s Social Networking Toolkit  ALA’s Interactive Web Applications siteALA’s Interactive Web Applications site

What You Can Do  Contacting elected officials about issuesContacting elected officials about issues

What You Can Do  YALSA’s Teen Tech Week siteYALSA’s Teen Tech Week site

What You Can Do  Create a profile for your libraryCreate a profile for your library

What You Can Do  YALSA’s Social Networking ToolkitYALSA’s Social Networking Toolkit

What You Can Do  ALA’s Interactive Web Applications siteALA’s Interactive Web Applications site

“As the District Court found, ‘the content on the Internet is as diverse as human thought’.... We agree with its conclusion that our cases provide no basis for qualifying the level of First Amendment scrutiny that should be applied to this medium.”—Reno v. ACLU 521 U.S. 844, 869 (1997)Reno v. ACLU

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