How it works. PICS software is premised on an approach based on a distributed sharing of ratings information. These ratings systems are tagged to each site and describe the content of the Internet sites. Each school district would then have the ability to decide what ratings will be viewable and what ratings will be blocked. Web site publishers as well as third party rating systems can be used to rate the sites.
Opponents claim that the filters block their access to speech on the basis of the speech's content.
The State may not, consistently with the spirit of the First Amendment, contract the spectrum of available knowledge. Although the Internet is a new medium for the exchange of information, the legal principles governing it are not entirely novel. Courts have addressed the rights of school boards to remove books from, or place books into, circulation in public school libraries. Va. Bd. of Educ. While a state actor generally may not restrict access to information, public schools have a greater ability to control curriculum and instruction.