[thechat] Censorship

[Kevin Stevens]

I don't believe in censorship, but there are so many grey areas I thought
I'd open this one up to the Chat to see what your opinions are. This was
prompted by something I've just read about an American library that was
taken to court by some of its members for putting software on its computers
to stop anyone from using them to view porn. Fair enough, I thought, but the
software also prevented access to anything on breast cancer and gay &
lesbian rights, which is why the lawsuit was filed. The people who started
legal action said this was an unconstitutional form of government
censorship. I can kind of see both sides of the argument. I would be really
upset if someone used my personal computer to view racist or homophobic
content, but I see this as someone disrespecting my personal wishes rather
than me censoring what they can and cannot do. I think the library was right
to do this, but it does show a fundamental flaw in having public access
terminals. What are your opinions on this?

Kevin Stevens
kjs at ratking.co.uk