Children's Internet Protection Act Thrown Out by Federal Judges

Federal judges in Philadelphia ruled unanimously on May 31 that the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is unconstitutional.  The law would have required public libraries to install filters on their computers or risk losing federal funding starting July 1.  It had been widely criticized by First-Amendment groups, and challenged by the American Library Association (ALA) and the American Civil Liberties Union.  According to ALA, the judges held that CIPA is unconstitutional because the mandated use of blocking technology on all computers results in blocked access to constitutionally protected speech.