Leonard Pitts is absolutely right. It is outrageous that his 10-year-old daughter was exposed to smut on the Internet while being supervised, one-on-one (“How do we stop computer smut from reaching our kids?” Commentary, Sept. 26).
Now imagine 30 to 40 kids in a classroom, or a dozen in the library, all with unfettered access to the Internet. The availability of Internet porn in our libraries is a very real problem. Thousands of official complaints have been filed with libraries nationwide regarding just this.
Today’s filtering technology is extremely effective, averaging well over 95 percent in blocking out undesirable sites. Librarians and teachers cannot police Internet terminals while maintaining their other duties. Filtering the Internet in public schools and libraries to protect the innocence of children does not mean we would have to sacrifice the innumerable benefits offered by the Internet. Today’s technology allows the best of both worlds, restricting porn and smut sites while providing full access to legitimate sites. Why is this so objectionable?
Filtering makes sense. Protecting children’s innocence makes even more sense.
