Archive for the ‘Censorship’ Category

Legal Battle: Convicted Murderer Sues Wikipedia; Wants His Name Removed from Entry

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

From the Article:

Wikipedia is under a censorship attack by a convicted murderer who is invoking Germany’s privacy laws in a bid to remove references to his killing of a Bavarian actor in 1990.

Lawyers for Wolfgang Werle, of Erding, Germany, sent a cease-and-desist letter (.pdf) demanding removal of Werle’s name from the Wikipedia entry on actor Walter Sedlmayr. The lawyers cite German court rulings that “have held that our client’s name and likeness cannot be used anymore in publication regarding Mr. Sedlmayr’s death.”

It’s not the first time Wikipedia, the world’s most popular online, public-driven encyclopedia, has been targeted by would-be censors. And it likely won’t be the last.

The site went offline overseas for a day in December, as British censors blacklisted it over an entry on the German rock band Scorpions. The entry included the cover art of the Scorpions’ 1976 Virgin Killer album, which depicts a nude young girl.

[Snip]

Wikipedia did not respond for comment.

Access the Cease-and-Desist Letter (PDF)

Source: Wired

See Also: Much More About this Case from the Electronic Frontier Foundation

Posted in Access to Information, Censorship, Social Media | No Comments »

Library of Congress stands by report on Honduras Coup

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

Library of Congress Stands by Report on Honduras Coup

Congress’s law library is rebuffing calls from the chairmen of the House and Senate foreign relations committees to retract a report on the military-backed coup in Honduras that the lawmakers charge is flawed.

The request, by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., has sparked cries of censorship from Republicans who say the Democrats don’t like what the August report said: that the government of Honduras had the authority to remove deposed President Manuel Zelaya from office.

A spokeswoman for the Law Library of Congress – one of six Library of Congress agencies – said Thursday that the research agency stands by the report and that Librarian of Congress James Billington is preparing a response to the lawmakers.

Zelaya has been holed up at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, for several weeks, and high-ranking U.S. officials were working Thursday to try to broker a resolution.

Republicans amped up their criticism Thursday of the Obama administration’s Honduras policy, asking the Government Accountability Office to investigate the State Department’s role in the crisis in Honduras. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said members of the Honduran congress told visiting members of Congress that the U.S. ambassador to Honduras was trying to put “Zelaya cronies” into government posts.

See previous story: Lawmakers ask Library of Congress to retract Honduras report

Source: Miami Herald

Posted in Censorship, Government Documents and Political Information, Libraries and Librarianship, Search News | No Comments »

To Kill a Mockingbird Challenged in Toronto, Ontario (Updated 10/15)

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

Word in this very brief report that a parent has asked the Toronto District School Board to remove To Kill a Mockingbird from the library at the Malvern Collegiate Institute (a public secondary school).

The book was published in 1960. The main plot involves a white lawyer defending a black man accused of rape in a fictional Alabama town.

Racial injustice is a major theme in the novel and racial epithets are used in the text.

The Toronto District School Board meeting is Wednesday night.

Source: CityNews

UPDATE (10/15) From The Globe and Mail

An anticipated debate over a parent’s right to object to certain books their children study at Toronto public schools didn’t take place last night, leaving one trustee claiming the others deliberately shut him out of the meeting.

Trustee Josh Matlow had hoped to object to a policy that allows parents to ask a principal to excuse their child from reading any particular book. It’s an informal process that made headlines earlier this school year over a Toronto parent’s suggestion that Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird be replaced because of its language.

Mr. Matlow believes the board should define what “reasonable grounds” it requires before agreeing a student need not study a book, saying it borders on being too “politically correct.” He added a “discussion” on the matter as a last-minute item on the agenda, but Trustee Cathy Dandy adjourned the meeting when he was out of the room. Mr. Matlow suggested she did so deliberately.

Posted in Access to Information, Censorship, Libraries and Librarianship | No Comments »

Interview — Judy Blume: “I Was Margaret”

Monday, October 5th, 2009

Judy Blume: “I Was Margaret”

Over her 40-year career, Judy Blume may have done more for sex education than the last 10 surgeons general. Though Blume wrote her best-loved novels in the 1970s, they endure today because they deal frankly and compassionately with the fears, relationships, and sexuality of young people…. Over four decades, Blume has found herself drafted as a defender of First Amendment rights and as a confidante to youth all over the world.

Source: doubleX (Slate)

See Also: More Judy Blume

+ Watch Judy Blume’s Presentation at the National Book Festival (September 26, 2009)

+ Listen to a Recent Podcast With Judy Blume
Matt Raymond from the Library of Congress chats with Judy. It’s a 25 minute interview.

Posted in Censorship, Search News | No Comments »

Gulf High School IB student, parents object to book

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

Gulf High School IB student, parents object to book

Marí Mercado ranks in the top 10 of her International Baccalaureate class at Gulf High School.

The 16-year-old loves to read, hates to make B’s and works hard on all her assignments.

So when it came time to read two complex novels and write an essay on their magical realism over the summer, Marí didn’t complain. She didn’t even blink at the notion of tackling the 611 pages of Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, translated from the original Japanese.

Then she got to the passage on Page 11 that began, “She said, ‘I’m in bed. I just got out of the shower, and I’m not wearing a thing.’ Oh, great. Telephone sex.” Marí thought the text was getting iffy.

Less than half a page later, the writing had become so sexually graphic that she gave the book to her mom, Mindy, with an “Eww, gross.”

Source: St. Petersburg Times

Note: ResourceShelf senior editor Shirl Kennedy is a news researcher for the St. Petersburg Times.

Posted in Censorship, Education, Search News | No Comments »

Crying Foul Over Dept. of Corrections’ Violation of Inmates’ Rights, Rutherford Institute Demands Ban on ‘Books Behind Bars’ Program Be Lifted

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

Crying Foul Over Dept. of Corrections’ Violation of Inmates’ Rights, Rutherford Institute Demands Ban on ‘Books Behind Bars’ Program Be Lifted

The Rutherford Institute is calling on the Virginia Department of Corrections to withdraw a directive forbidding prison inmates from receiving free books from the Charlottesville-based Quest Institute, a non-profit whose “Books Behind Bars” program has distributed more than a million books to 11,000 inmates over the course of its 20-year history. In a demand letter sent to Gene M. Johnson, the director of the Virginia Department of Corrections, Rutherford Institute attorneys charge that the Department’s ban amounts to egregious censorship and is an unwarranted and clear violation of the First Amendment rights of prison inmates who might benefit from the program, as well as the Quest Institute. A copy of the Institute’s letter is available here. (PDF; 88 KB)
…
For over 20 years, “Books Behind Bars,” a program of the nonprofit corporation Quest Institute, Inc., has provided books free of charge to prison inmates in Virginia and other states. The program responds to requests from inmates for books on specific topics in order to satisfy the intellectual interests and spiritual needs of individual inmates. Books Behind Bars provides inmates with books for which they have a continuing need, such as dictionaries, books on religion, including the Bible and the Koran, meditation, art, literature and a variety of other topics.

However, earlier this year, Department officials issued a directive prohibiting inmates from receiving books sent by Books Behind Bars. Despite inquiries by the program’s director, Kay Allison, and pleas that the program be allowed to continue, the department failed to provide any clear explanation for its act of censorship.

Source: Rutherford Institute

UPDATE: Victory — After Intervention by Rutherford Institute, Dept. of Corrections lifts Ban on ‘Books Behind Bars’ Program, Recognizes Inmates’ Rights

Posted in Access to Information, Censorship, Search News | No Comments »

For SEC, tech-savvy fans might be biggest threats to media exclusivity

Monday, August 17th, 2009

For SEC, tech-savvy fans might be biggest threats to media exclusivity

Dade City judge and University of Florida grad Pat Siracusa is such a big Gators football fan that he sometimes wears a replica Tim Tebow jersey under his black robe on Fridays in the fall.

His profile picture on his Facebook page is a photo he took with his phone from the stands at last January’s national championship game.

It’s a good memory.

But the Southeastern Conference might use a different word to describe that image: illegal.

The SEC, one of college sports’ biggest, richest, most prominent conferences, earlier this month sent to its 12 schools an eye-opening new media policy. It places increasingly stringent limits on reporters and how much audio, video and “real-time” blogging they can do at games, practices and news conferences.

But even more interesting is that the policy also includes rules for fans in the stands. No updating Twitter feeds. No taking photos with phones and posting them on Facebook or Flickr. No taking videos and putting them on YouTube.

Source: St. Petersburg Times

See also: Social Media Banned From College Stadiums (Mashable)

Note: ResourceShelf senior editor Shirl Kennedy is a news researcher for the St. Petersburg Times.

Posted in Access to Information, Censorship, Search News, Social Media, Technology and Internet, Web 2.0 | No Comments »

List: Top 10 Challenged Books of 2008 (U.S.)

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

From the Announcement:

For a third consecutive year, Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell’s award-winning “And Tango Makes Three,” a children’s book about two male penguins caring for an orphaned egg, tops the American Library Association’s (ALA) Top Ten list of the Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2008.

Four books are new to the list: “Bless Me, Ultima,” by Rudolfo Anaya; “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” by Sarah S. Brannen; “The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini; and “Flashcards of My Life,” by Charise Mericle Harper.

Alvin Schwartz’s “Scary Stories” series returns after being dropped from the list in 2007.

Complete Top 10 List:

The ALA’s Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2008 reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:

1. “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Anti-Family, Homosexuality, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

2. “His Dark Materials Trilogy” (Series), Philip Pullman
Reasons: Political Viewpoint, Religious Viewpoint, Violence

3. “TTYL”; “TTFN”; “L8R, G8R” (Series), Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

4. “Scary Stories” (Series), Alvin Schwartz
Reasons: Occult/Satanism, Religious Viewpoint, Violence

5. “Bless Me, Ultima,” by Rudolfo Anaya
Reasons: Occult/Satanism, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Sexually Explicit, Violence

6. “The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: Drugs, Homosexuality, Nudity, Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Suicide, Unsuited to Age Group

7. “Gossip Girl” (Series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

8. “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” by Sarah S. Brannen
Reasons: Homosexuality, Unsuited to Age Group

9. “The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini
Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

10. “Flashcards of My Life,” by Charise Mericle Harper
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

To review titles that did not make the list this year, you’ll find them at the bottom of this page.

Source: ALA

Posted in Censorship | No Comments »

UK: Guidance on the Management of Controversial Material in Public Libraries

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

A new document from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.

From the Announcement:

Guidance on the Management of Controversial Material in Public Libraries has been issued today by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA). The new publication, commissioned by the Department of Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) and Cabinet Office, provides support for public libraries in making difficult choices when managing books, information and internet content that may be deemed to be controversial.

The MLA guidelines, developed as a result of extensive consultation with library and information professionals throughout the UK, aims to provide good and consistent practice in the selection and management of library stock.

The publication addresses issues that may impact on the public library’s responsibility for the selection and provision of information by outlining current legislation on terrorism, local government, freedom of expression and human rights, race relations and equality.

Sue Wilkinson, Director of Policy at MLA commented, “Libraries are doing some great work in ensuring their collections reflect the ideas and views of their communities in a continually evolving cultural, political and social climate. In doing this, libraries will hold materials that some may find challenging and controversial. We hope this guidance will help library and information professionals deal with controversial items; support their difficult decision-making and help them respond to challenges.”

Barbara Follett, Culture Minister, said: “The democratic principles of free access and expression are the foundations upon which Britain’s public library service is built. We have to give their staff the tools to enable them to make decisions about what materials they can and should stock whilst, at the same time, promoting learning, education and cultural inspiration for all.”

Direct to Complete Document (42 pages; PDF)

Source: MLA

See Also: CILIP Endorses Document

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Supreme Court Rejection Nixes Child Online Protection Act

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

From the News Item:

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a government attempt to resurrect the Child Online Protection Act of 1998, which has been repeatedly rebuffed by lower federal courts over a decade of judicial review. The justices let stand a unanimous ruling last July by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia declaring the law unconstitutional on First and Fifth Amendment grounds—which overturns COPA permanently.

Source: American Libraries

Posted in Censorship, Libraries and Librarianship, Search News | No Comments »

Internet Portals Targeted by Chinese Crackdown Apologise

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009

From the AFP Article:

Google and other major Internet sites apologised on Wednesday after the Chinese government accused them of failing to police links on their web pages that could lead to pornographic material.

Google said it had deleted all links to vulgar material from its search indexes, “which may have had a negative effect on web users”, in an apology posted in the company blog on its Chinese site.

“Search engines link to a sea of materials and our plan is to conquer mountains of technical difficulties and do all we can to reduce the amount of vulgar material,” Google said in the statement.

“Google is willing to be a law-abiding citizen in China,” it said.

Source: Agence France Press

Posted in Access to Information, Censorship, Search News | No Comments »

SEC OIG Memo — SafeSearch Filter on Internet Search Engines

Saturday, January 3rd, 2009

SafeSearch Filter on Internet Search Engines (PDF; 22 KB)

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) continues to receive monthly referrals from the Office of Information Technology (OIT) of employees who have used their SEC- assigned computers to access Internet pornography in violation of Commission rules and policies and notwithstanding the agency’s Internet filter. We have conducted investigations and inquiries into many of these referrals.

Several of the investigations and inquiries conducted by the OIG have revealed that SEC employees were able to access pornographic images by searching for images using Internet search engines such as Google and Yahoo and turning off the SafeSearch Filter feature. We understand from conversations with the OIT Security Group that technology is currently available that would enable OIT to prevent employees from turning off the SafeSearch Filter feature when searching for images on the Internet. In addition, as the OIT Security Group has acknowledged, new technology changes and tools may be developed to circumvent IT security policies that will require additional measures in the future.

We are recommending that the technology that will prevent employees from turning off the SafeSearch Filter be implemented expeditiously on a Commission-wide basis to further limit employees’ ability to access pornographic images from their Commission computers. We are also recommending that the OIT Security Group continue to monitor new developments in technology in order to restrict employees’ ability to circumvent the filters.

Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Inspector General

Posted in Access to Information, Censorship, Government Documents and Political Information, Search News, Technology and Internet, Web Search | No Comments »

Uproar in Australia over plan to block websites

Friday, December 26th, 2008

From the AP Article:

A proposed Internet filter dubbed the “Great Aussie Firewall” is promising to make Australia one of the strictest Internet regulators among democratic countries.

Consumers, civil-rights activists, engineers, Internet providers and politicians from opposition parties are among the critics of a mandatory Internet filter that would block at least 1,300 websites prohibited by the government — mostly child pornography, excessive violence, instructions in crime or drug use and advocacy of terrorism.

Hundreds protested in state capitals earlier this month.

“This is obviously censorship,” said Justin Pearson Smith, 29, organizer of protests in Melbourne and an officer of one of a dozen Facebook groups against the filter.

Source: AP

See Also: Recently Released Report: Australia: Internet Censorship and Mandatory Filtering

See Also: Australia to test Internet filter next month (via AFP)

Posted in Access to Information, Censorship | No Comments »

Recently Released Report: Australia: Internet Censorship and Mandatory Filtering

Wednesday, December 24th, 2008

Direct to Full Text Report (9 pages; PDF)

Source: New South Wales Parliamentary Library Research Service

Posted in Access to Information, Censorship, Information Industry, Technology and Internet | No Comments »

Man Says DVD At Town ‘N Country Library Is Porn

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

Man Says DVD At Town ‘N Country Library Is Porn

A Rocky Creek man wants to have a film he regards as pornographic removed from the shelves of the Town ‘N Country Regional Public Library.

Frank DeAngelis, a former police officer and retired sociology professor, said he didn’t know what to expect when he checked out “The Films of James Broughton.” DeAngelis said he was shocked to see naked men engaging in various sexual acts. In one the collection’s films, “Devotions,” two men dress up like nuns and embrace and kiss.

But what really concerned DeAngelis is that naked children are shown, albeit in nonsexual situations.

“Why would they put little children in there to infer pornography?” DeAngelis said. “They crossed the line with the little children.”
…
Broughton was a poet, playwright and avant-garde filmmaker. Born in 1913 in Modesto, Calif., Broughton wrote more than 20 books of verse and considered himself “first and foremost a poet.”

But his films, including “Dreamwood,” “The Pleasure Garden” and “The Golden Positions” received more attention, earning him an American Film Institute lifetime achievement award in 1989. He died in 1999 at age 85.

The DVD that DeAngelis borrowed was not rated but had a warning on the back cover saying it was for “mature audiences.” The front cover shows a man sitting on the floor, filming a dancing man who appears to be naked.

Keith Allen, supervisor at the Town ‘N Country library, said he had never heard of the film and doesn’t remember anyone complaining about it.

Source: Tampa Tribune

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Blacklisted in Cyberspace

Monday, December 1st, 2008

Blacklisted in Cyberspace

Spam was once a simple annoyance. But its exponential growth — reports suggest that about 90 percent of all e-mail is spam — has led e-mail users to build daunting ramparts to block unwanted messages and companies to circulate blacklists of alleged spammers. One cannot fault people for seeking ways to avoid unwanted or aggressive solicitations, but the consequences of some anti-spam measures may not be what the people seeking protection from spam had in mind. Some efforts to block unwanted e-messages are threatening free speech on the Internet.

Souce: Washington Post

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‘Cyber’ Lawyer’s Threats, Intimidation Shut Down Web Site

Sunday, October 5th, 2008

‘Cyber’ Lawyer’s Threats, Intimidation Shut Down Web Site

A Virginia lawyer used intimidation and bullying tactics, including spurious trademark infringement and defamation claims, to shut down a Web site that criticized him, Public Citizen argued today in lawsuit filed against the lawyer and his firm.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, seeks an order that would prevent John Dozier of Dozier Internet Law from pursuing defamation and trademark claims against Ronald Riley, who runs the Web site CyberTrialLawyer-Sucks.com. The suit also asks for attorneys’ fees, court costs and $1,000 in punitive damages.

In the past month, three successive Internet hosting companies have taken down Riley’s Web site after each company received a warning letter from Dozier. Among Dozier’s complaints was that Riley used his firm’s name to link to an unrelated Web site, which Dozier claimed was a trademark infringement. In at least two cases, companies were told that if they didn’t take down CyberTrialLawyer-Sucks.com, they would run the risk of having the Web sites of all their clients shut down.

+ Ronald Riley v. John Dozier documents

Source: Public Citizen

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Idaho: Nampa library restores ‘Joy of Sex’ books

Tuesday, September 9th, 2008

From the article:

Two books with graphic sexual illustrations were restored to Nampa Public Library shelves Monday in response to a threatened lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union.

The ACLU sent the Nampa Library Board a letter last week saying it would sue unless the board reversed its June decision to permanently banish “The Joy of Gay Sex” and “The New Joy of Sex” to the library director’s office, where only those who specifically requested the books could see them. In response, the five-member library board held a special meeting Friday and unanimously voted to put the books back on the shelves, library Community Relations Coordinator Dan Black said.

Source: Idaho Statesman

Posted in Access to Information, Censorship, Libraries and Librarianship, Search News | No Comments »

ALA President Jim Rettig releases statement on censorship

Thursday, September 4th, 2008

From the news release:

The American Library Association (ALA) opposes book banning and censorship in any form, and supports librarians whenever they resist censorship in their libraries. Since our society is so diverse, libraries have a responsibility to provide materials that reflect the interests of all of their patrons.

Each year, the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom receives hundreds of reports on books and other materials that were “challenged” (their removal from school or library shelves was requested). The ALA estimates the number reported represents only about a quarter of the actual challenges

Source: ALA

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Kentucky Settles Internet Censorship Suit, Agrees to Lift Ban on Blogs

Friday, June 20th, 2008

Kentucky Settles Internet Censorship Suit, Agrees to Lift Ban on Blogs

The Commonwealth of Kentucky has settled a lawsuit with a political blogger whose critical comments of then-Gov. Ernie Fletcher resulted in the state “blacklisting” all blogs on state-owned computers.

Public Citizen’s client Mark Nickolas, author of the blog BluegrassReport.org, agreed Tuesday to dismiss the suit in the U.S. District Court in Frankfort, Ky. after Kentucky officials approved the settlement agreement. Louisville attorney Jennifer Moore also represented Nickolas.

Under the settlement, Kentucky officials agreed to no longer single out Web sites just because they are considered blogs. State officials reserve the right to block sites they consider inappropriate but agree to use a “viewpoint-neutral” standard that applies equally to all Web sites.

Public Citizen filed suit on behalf of Nickolas after the state started using a filtering program to censor all Web sites categorized as blogs. The state’s former top computer official stated in a court filing that the filtering policy was implemented because the governor’s office was unhappy with Nickolas’s blog, which was widely read by state employees and frequently criticized the governor.

+ Case Documents

Source: Public Citizen

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