The Internet Archive Files Federal Suit Challenging a New Washington State Law
From the Electronic Frontier Foundation:
The Internet Archive has filed a federal challenge to a new Washington State law that intends to make online service providers criminally liable for providing access to third parties’ offensive materials. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is representing the Internet Archive in order to block the enforcement of SB 6251, a law aimed at combatting advertisements for underage sex workers but with vague and overbroad language that is squarely in conflict with federal law.
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“The Internet Archive, as an online library, archives the World Wide Web and other digital materials for researchers, historians, and the general public,” said Brewster Kahle, Digital Librarian and founder of the Internet Archive. “We strongly support law enforcement efforts to combat child sex trafficking, but this new law could endanger libraries and other entities that bring access to websites and user-generated content.”
Read the Complete Announcement from EFF
Primary Documents
Full Text of Motion to Intervene
Full Text of Complaint
Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, Libraries, News
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.