I could not release this blog without posting a comment about the much publicized Julie Amero Case. This case is jaw-dropping to say the least and brings to the forefront the enormous dilemma librarians and educators face.
Julie Amero, a substitute teacher for a seventh grade middle school class, was charged and convicted of exposing the class to pornographic sites on the Internet. It was later determined that these pop-ups were due to adware and spyware programs that were not blocked due to a lapse in the filtering software license. She could face up to 40 years in prison!
Her sentencing date has been postponed until the end of April. It is my prediction that prosecutors will set aside her conviction. In the meantime, Julie Amero's life has been turned upside down; laden with unwanted publicity as well as a huge legal financial burden.
Will this case promote the use of filtering software in order to avoid criminal liability? Or does it emphasize the fallacies of filtering software while promoting a false sense of protection for our children?
I personally believe that school teachers and media specialists alike will be ever so vigilant about the filtering of unwanted sites. A recent article in the School Library Journal describes how schools are in essence "filtering the filters" in order to prevent unwarranted access to objectionable material.
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