Official urges local guidelines for Internet

Mark D. Preston

Wednesday, Nov. 11, 1998 | 11:31 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Local authorities should be allowed to impose their own guidelines for library Internet use, a Nevada chief deputy attorney general told a federal library panel Tuesday.

Kevin Higgins was in the nation's capital to advise the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science on how to cope with the emerging information age and new federal laws designed to police it. Higgins is the founder of the Nevada High Technology Crime Task Force, the statewide unit that investigates crimes committed using technology, including child pornography and telemarketing scams.

Martha B. Gould, vice chairperson of the national commission and retired director of the Washoe County Library System, agreed that individual library systems should decide Internet usage guidelines.

"I think local control is very important," Gould said.

The commission advises Congress and President Clinton on national library policy. And Gould said she is concerned about the laws being crafted at the federal level, questioning whether they will be effective.

Specifically, Gould questioned the Child Online Protection Act, that passed Congress and became law this year. Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., authored the legislation that requires commercial websites to verify a user's age by asking for a credit or pin number before granting access to material that is "harmful to minors."

"Any kid who is at all knowledgeable with computers is going to be able to circumvent that password," she said. "And how in the names of heaven is anyone going to enforce this law. It's impossible."

Washoe County's library system does not restrict adults from viewing material that is lawfully available on the World Wide Web. But it does require parental permission from parents for Internet usage by children under 18. There are different levels of access and parents are able to choose whether or not a filter is needed to limit information such as nude pictures.

The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District allows adults to view any material posted on the World Wide Web, but its guidelines say people are "expected to use these resources in a responsible manner, consistent with educational and informational purposes." Much like Washoe, children under 18 in Clark County are required to have a parental permission slip signed before using the Internet.

Higgins also said parents need to familiarize themselves with the Internet and monitor and set boundaries for their children's usage.

"I think one of the best suggestions I have ever heard ... is put the home computer in the living room or dining room and if the child wants to surf the net while you watch T.V.," Higgins said. "He will not be stuck in a backroom surfing and looking at things he shouldn't be."

To help parents surf the Internet with their children, the state task force has produced a pamphlet entitled "Keeping Your Children Safe" that provides suggestions to parents on their children's Internet usage.

"It is impossible to keep our kids safe 100 percent of the time, but if we ignore it is a big mistake," he said.

Jean Hurley Simon, chairperson of the national commission, praised Higgins for Nevada's efforts to help prevent high technology crime. "It's obvious Nevada is ahead of the curve on this," Hurley said.