Feature on Multnomah v. US - Challenge to Library Web Blocking Law

Supreme Court to Hear Web Blocking Case

CIPA challenge documents 

General Materials 

Trial materials

• Plaintiffs
• Trial Schedule and Witness Biographies
• Courtroom Report
• Plaintiff's joint post-trial documents
• ACLU Pretrial Brief
• Redacted final joint party stipulations
  ACLU Complaint in Multnomah County Public Library et al., vs. United States of America, et al. 
• ACLU Response to Government's Motion to Dismiss 
• Expert Report: Study of Web Blocking Programs by Ben Edelman of Harvard University's Berkman Center
• Expert Report: Prof. Joseph Janes of the University of Washington
• Expert Report: Library Consultant Anne G. Lipow

Examples of Wrongly Blocked Web Sites

• Evidence submitted at trial 
• Consumer Reports Reviews Blocking Software Programs 
• Find Out Who's Been Censored at the Censorware Project

ACLU Special Reports

• Censorship In a Box: Why Blocking Software is Wrong for Public Libraries 
Fahrenheit 451.2: Is Cyberspace Burning?

Other Resources 

• American Library Association page on CIPA challenge 
• COPA Commission report (panel created by Congress that recommended against blocking programs) 
• Government Report on the Digital Divide

News Releases

•  11-12-02 -- ACLU Optimistic That Supreme Court Will Reject Law Mandating Internet Censorship in Libraries
• 05-31-02 -- Federal Court Rejects Government Censorship in Libraries, Citing Free Speech Rights of Patrons
• 03-25-02 -- Librarians Take the Stand in First Day of Trial on Government Censorship in Libraries
• 07-27-01 -- House Committee Report on Pornography and File-Sharing Confirms ACLU Concerns With Blocking Software
• 05-17-01:  ACLU Responds to Confusion Over Library Blocking Software Law; Seeks December Trial Date in Legal Challenge     
• 04-19-01: Library Internet Access is Still Free from Censorship as Law Goes into Effect, ACLU Tells Libraries, Patrons
• 04-04-01: ACLU Tells Committee That New Internet Law Blocks Protected Speech and Should Itself Be Blocked
• 03-20-01 ACLU Files Challenge to Library Internet Censorship In Case Fast-Tracked for Supreme Court Review
• 03-07-01: In First-Ever Challenge, CA Court of Appeals Upholds Library's Right to Provide Uncensored Internet Access
• 02-14-01: As ACLU Prepares Legal Challenge to Mandatory Internet Blocking, Consumer Reports Says Products Fail Test
• 01-19-01: ACLU Will Fight Government Plan to Censor Internet in Libraries
• 10-20-00:Citing New Government Report, ACLU Calls on Congress to Reject Internet Blocking Bill
• 05-20-99: ACLU Says Filtering Legislation Represents Little More Than Sugar Pill for Parents
• 06-17-98: New ACLU Report Condemns Mandatory Blocking Software in Public Libraries
• 04-07-98: Judge Sets Highest Legal Hurdle For Using Blocking Software in Libraries
• 03-12-98: ACLU Vows Fight As New Internet Censorship Bills Slither Through Senate
• 01-28-98: ACLU Hails Victory as California Library Agrees to Remove Internet Filters from Public Computers
• 01-28-98: Internet Funding Proposal Would Put Big Brother in Classroom 

Plaintiffs' Legal Team:

• Ann Beeson, Christopher A. Hansen, and Kevin Bankston of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
• Stefan Presser of the ACLU of Pennsylvania Foundation
• David L. Sobel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center
• Lee Tien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Chuck Sims, Frank Scibilia, Stefanie Krause and Andy Lee with the New York City law firm Proskauer Rose
• Tom Sponsler, Multnomah County Attorney
  

For more information about the ACLU's efforts to stop censorship on the Internet, visit the Privacy and Technology issue page