Last Chance to Mobilize Opposition to House Bill 1727, Mandatory Internet Filters on All Public and School Library Computers

The Illinois General Assembly is currently on recess until Tuesday, 17 April 2007. Now is the time for you to contact your Illinois House of Representative while he or she is back in the district.

As reported previously, the Illinois House of Representatives Judiciary I, Civil Law Committee determined to advance House Bill (HB) 1727 to the Illinois House of Representatives. While three amendments have been filed to HB 1727 (see the ILA Web site for actual text of amendments http://www.capwiz.com/ila/issues/bills/?bill=9413391), none of these amendments are helpful. For example, the second amendment would require the library to monitor minors' computer use.

Our preliminary roll call count indicates that there may be sufficient votes in the House to pass HB 1727. If the bill passes in the House, we will then have to fight it in the Illinois Senate. If passed by the Illinois Senate, then our efforts will be directed to the Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich. Obviously, the earlier we kill this bill, the better.

This ILA update repeats specific guidance and talking points, but it will be essential that our elected officials receive many calls, not just from the library community, but also from trustees, friends, and library patrons. The message is, "Vote No on House Bill (HB) 1727, mandatory Internet filters on all public and school library computers." House Bill 1727 could be considered as early as next week. The deadline for advancing House Bills to the Illinois Senate is Friday, 27 April.

If the following talking points are unclear, please read the bill (available at http://capwiz.com/ila/issues/). If it is still unclear, ask your library's or school district's attorney or ask your library system's attorney to explain the bill to you. There are significant provisions regarding annual perjury oaths and liability issues (for example, imposing $100 per day fines) that go well beyond just the filtering issue. In other words, if your school or library currently does filter, this bill will still impact your school or library with additional requirements and potential liability issues.

This Bill is Extreme!
House Bill 1727 allows any citizen to file a suit to enforce its provisions. For centuries, librarians have had to deal with individuals who objected to some book being on the shelf, and now this bill allows those citizen censors to file perhaps hundreds of lawsuits costing the taxpayers precious dollars and making librarians permanent defendants.

House Bill 1727 imposes fines of $100 per day on libraries. What libraries wouldn't give to receive $100 a day from the state, but the vast majority of our support comes from local property taxes and not the state. So here we have the state not providing the vast majority of funding for libraries, overruling local decisions, imposing large fines paid for by local tax dollars, and placing those local monies in a state-controlled account; and

House Bill 1727 requires librarians to file annual perjury oaths that would make librarians subject to criminal perjury prosecutions when they honestly believe that they cannot comply with this law's requirement. We cannot think of another example where you would criminalize through perjury prosecutions the good faith activities of a dedicated local public servant. Do we want to be the first state to subject our librarians to fines and prison time for carrying out the good faith activities of a dedicated public servant?

This Bill is Ill Conceived
During the hearing, two amendments were added to House Bill 1727 and a third was proposed after the committee voted. The bill, even with these amendments, is still unconstitutional. If passed by the Illinois General Assembly and signed by the governor, House Bill 1727 would be subject to suffer the same consequences as the unconstitutional ban on video games. The state was liable for in excess of $500,000 in legal fees for passing an unconstitutional bill. House Bill 1727 would be subject to the same fate. This bill is ill conceived, a moving target, and it does not reflect thoughtful or constructive action to address the problems it seeks to solve.

Talking Points:
The Illinois Library Association ("ILA") opposes House Bill 1727 which would require installation of mandatory Internet filters on all public and school library computers. This comprehensive ban on free access to the Internet would apply to even computers used exclusively by adults. ILA supports local control. Local officials -- library trustees, librarians, and other professional library staff - are the most qualified to decide how Internet access should be provided to their patrons. House Bill 1727 overrules all local decisions and imposes a "one size fits all" approach. In contrast, ILA supports House Bill (HB) 660 and Senate Bill (SB) 1472, which mandates schools to teach Internet safety to students.

ILA opposes mandatory filters because:

Filters Hurt Libraries!
This legislation is an unfunded mandate that overrides local control. This legislation even places libraries at risk for civil suits by "any citizen," fines, and perjury prosecutions. Even if the library prevails in all these suits, the library would incur attorneys' fees and costs to defend claims filed under the legislation.

Filters Don't Work!
Study after study has demonstrated that filters consistently block important information on science, health, political, and social issues and regularly allow objectionable material to get through. This creates new liability for libraries.

Filters are Expensive!
Paying for filters diverts scarce resources from limited technology budgets. Money that could go to buying more computers, and paying for more reliable and faster Internet access. Typical network installation is $10,000, plus about $3,000 per year. This is enough to buy twenty computers and pay for Internet access.

Filters are Inflexible!
Filters don't know if the person using the computer is 5, 21, or 65. This "one size fits all" approach treats adults, even senior citizens, like elementary school children. The user doesn't even know what they are being prevented from accessing. We can't expect patrons to ask to unblock computers when they don't know what that particular filter has blocked.

Filters are Biased!
Private companies and groups with commercial, political, or religious agendas design filters to block what THEY find objectionable, including political candidates, social causes, basic health information, and even information on their own product's faults.

Filters Hurt the Poor!
Less wealthy communities are the most in need of technology because more of their patrons lack these resources at home. This legislation forces less affluent areas to choose between filling this need or spending money just to block access.

This is an Unfunded Mandate!

For additional talking points or ideas, see the testimony presented yesterday available on the ILA Web site at http://www.ila.org/about/press.htm. Presenting testimony were: Kip Kolkmeier, ILA legislative consultant; Marilyn Boria, director for the Elmhurst Public Library; Tamiye Meehan, ILA president and director of the Indian Trails Public Library District; and Karen Danczak Lyons, first deputy commissioner, Chicago Public Library.

Finally, the Illinois library community supports the goal of protecting children. One of the primary concerns of the library community is the safety of children. We know, however, that the best way to protect children is to teach them to guard their privacy and make wise choices. To this end, the Illinois General Assembly, if seriously interested in protecting children, can help by funding an educational campaign now.

Education, not laws blocking access, is the key to safe use of the Internet.