Restricting Internet Access In Libraries

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A bill now heading to the state House of Representative would limit the access children have to the Internet at public libraries.<br/><br/>It would prohibit children 12 or younger

Wednesday, February 21st 2007, 11:53 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A bill now heading to the state House of Representative would limit the access children have to the Internet at public libraries.

It would prohibit children 12 or younger from getting on the Internet without adult supervision and the computer must have a filter to block e-mail and social networking Web sites. It also requires children 13 to 18 to have permission from their parents before accessing the Internet on library computers.

It passed out of the state House Education Committee Wednesday.

State Representative Paul Wesselhoft says the idea is to protect children from being approached by sexual predators who may try to contact them on the Internet.

But opponents say the bill is overkill and will be costly to implement. Susan McVey of the state Department of Libraries says all public libraries in Oklahoma already require parental permission for children to access the Internet and have filters to screen out certain objectionable material.