N2H2 (censorware co) on library censorware
N2H2 (censorware company) has this little gem in their recent financial filing, concerning CIPA:
By Seth Finkelstein | posted in censorware , legal | on May 17, 2003 10:21 PM (Infothought permalink) | FollowupsFree speech and privacy concerns could adversely affect the demand for our Internet filtering solutions.
There has been a public-policy debate regarding Internet filtering in schools and libraries within the U.S. Congress. This debate has resulted in the CIPA, a law mandating Internet filtering in schools and libraries receiving certain federal funds, among other requirements. A United States District Court, however, has declared this act as it applies to public libraries unconstitutional. This decision has been appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which has accepted the case and is expected to rule by June 2003. If CIPA is ultimately held unconstitutional, some of our current customers may decide to no longer provide filtering in their organizations. This in turn would lead them to not renew contracts with us and would thereby harm an important source of our revenues. If the Supreme Court determines that filtering by public libraries is unconstitutional, plaintiffs and advocacy groups may rely on this decision to challenge the constitutionality on First Amendment grounds of mandatory filtering in public schools. Because public school customers still represent the majority of our revenue, an ultimate finding by the Supreme Court that mandatory filtering in public schools is unconstitutional could have a serious adverse effect on our future revenues.
