And libraries are now mandated to install software that will deny adults access to materials that are constitutionally protected - words and pictures that no court has ever deemed indecent, obscene or harmful to minors. Worse yet, librarian-cops aren't required to disable the filters for such adults, only permitted. This law undoes years of careful negotiations and compromise around the country and eliminates parental or community discretion. It allows the federal government, with international corporations as their hired agent, to dictate what is and is not available in city and county libraries. It is extraordinarily difficult to access porn in public libraries, and librarians say that practically no one does it.
Censorship warps young minds far more than pictures of sex, no matter how extreme.
The American public has rolled back many of its rights in the name of protecting its children - a policy that has failed to deliver the safety we long for. We seem to believe that emotional security lies with just one more law, or one new invention. Or with a little more money. But life just doesn't work that way. As we look at dark regimes around the globe, Americans criticize problem-solving that reduces information or freedom.