US set for court battle over web filters in libraries

Civil liberties advocates in the US are trying to stop a new law requiring all libraries to install web-filtering software.

Up to a dozen pressure groups have joined the American Library Association in seeking an injunction to stop the Children's Internet Protection Act.

They say the plan to block pornography would bring a form of censorship akin to tearing pages out of encyclopaedias.

Elliot Minchberg, a lawyer for the People for the American Way Foundation, believes the plan is technically and legally flawed.

"The law has a nice-sounding name, but the truth is that it offers no guarantee for children," he said.

He says the law will censor constitutionally-protected information, a move that would violate the rights of parents and the public.

Conservative groups have defended the law.

A Family Research Council spokesman says that without it public libraries are virtual peep shows open to kids and funded by taxpayers.

The Act, which targets any material classified obscene or harmful to minors, is due to take effect on April 20.

Libraries that fail to install computer-filtering software face the prospect of losing federal funding.