first amendment and censorship
(Content from the American Library Association website)
“Congress shall not promulgate any law with respect to the establishment of a religion, or that prohibits the free exercise thereof; or restricting freedom of expression, or of the press; or the right of the people to assemble peacefully and petition the government for redress of grievances.” us first amendment Constitution approved by Congress on September 25, 1789. Ratified on December 15, 1791.
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one of the ten amendments to the bill of rights, the first amendment gives everyone residing in the united states the right to hear all viewpoints on any issue and to make their own judgments on those issues without interference or government limitations. the first amendment allows people to speak, publish, read, and watch what they want, worship (or not worship) as they choose, associate with whomever they choose, and get together to ask the government to make changes to the law or correct wrongs in society.
The right to speak and the right to publish under the first amendment has been widely interpreted to protect individuals and society from government attempts to suppress ideas and information, and to prohibit government censorship of books, magazines and newspapers, as well as art. , movies, music and materials on the internet. the supreme court and other courts have conclusively held that there is a first amendment right to receive information; the right to receive information is a corollary of the right to speak. Justice William Brennan elaborated on this point in 1965:
“the protection of the bill of rights goes beyond specific guarantees to protect from congressional restriction those equally fundamental personal rights necessary for the express guarantees to have their full meaning. I think the right to receive publications is such a fundamental right. the dissemination of ideas can accomplish nothing if otherwise disposed recipients are not free to receive and consider them. it would be a sterile market of ideas that would only have sellers and no buyers”. Lamont v. Postmaster General, 381 U.S. 301 (1965).
when the supreme court considered whether a local school board violated the constitution by removing books from a school library, it held that “the right to receive ideas is a necessary predicate for the recipient’s meaningful exercise of their own rights of speech, press and political freedom.”
Public schools and public libraries, as public institutions, have been the scene of legal battles over student access to books, removal or retention of “offensive” material, regulation of user behavior, and limitations on public access to the internet. restrictions and censorship of materials in public institutions are often triggered by public complaints. Government officials, in the form of the library board or school administration, are always mindful of the importance their neighbors may place on religious values, moral sensitivities, and the protection of children from offensive material. therefore, directly or indirectly, ordinary citizens are the driving force behind the challenges to the internet, information and ideas.
The First Amendment protects public institutions from having to compromise the ideals of freedom of expression by establishing a framework that defines fundamental rights and responsibilities. protects freedom of expression, thought and research, and advocates respect for the right of others to do the same. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wisely guides the American people to resort to “more speech, not forced silence” in trying to resolve our differences in values, sensibilities, and offenses.
The first amendment constitutional right to free speech, which also applies to states, only prevents government restrictions on speech, not restrictions imposed by individuals or businesses. mark zuckerberg can restrict speech on facebook because it’s a private business and not the government.
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Criticism of the government, political dissatisfaction, and advocacy of unpopular ideas that people may find distasteful or contrary to public policy are almost always protected. the United States. The Supreme Court has recognized several categories of speech that are not protected by the First Amendment. these include obscenity, child pornography, and libel and slander. Deciding what is and is not protected speech is almost always reserved for a court of law.
first amendment appeals
clauses of the first reform of the national constitution center. “The National Constitution Center is the first and only institution in America established by Congress to ‘disseminate information about the United States Constitution on a nonpartisan basis for the purpose of increasing knowledge and understanding of the Constitution among the people. American.”
first amendment – religion and expression findlaw. “findlaw, a thomson Reuters company, provides consumers and lawyers with a variety of case law, statutes, legal news, online career center, blogs, and a variety of community-oriented tools.”
what is censorship?
Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain people (individuals, groups, or government officials) find objectionable or dangerous. It’s no more complicated than someone saying, “Don’t let anyone read this book, or buy that magazine, or watch that movie, because I’m against it!” censors try to use the power of the state to impose their view of what is truthful and appropriate, or offensive and objectionable, on everyone else. censors pressure public institutions, such as libraries, to suppress and remove from public access information they deem inappropriate or dangerous, so that no one else has the opportunity to read or view the material and make a decision about it. the censor wants to prejudge materials for everyone.
“Libraries must defy censorship in fulfilling their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.” — article 3, library bill of rights
wing statements and policies on censorship
Contested Resources: An Interpretation of the Library’s Bill of Rights (2019) A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based on the objections of an individual or group. a ban is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve one person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting access by others. wing states as a matter of firm principle that it is the responsibility of each library to have a clearly defined written policy for collection development that includes a procedure for the review of contested resources.
Labelling systems: an interpretation of the library bill of rights (2015) the american library association affirms the rights of individuals to form their own opinions about the resources they choose to read, view, listen to, or otherwise access way. Libraries do not champion ideas found in their collections or in resources accessible through the library. the presence of books and other resources in a library does not indicate approval of their content by the library. Similarly, providing access to digital information does not indicate endorsement or approval of that information by the library. labeling systems present different challenges to these principles of intellectual freedom.
rating systems: an interpretation of the library bill of rights (2015) libraries, no matter their size, contain an enormous wealth of views and are responsible for making those views available to all. however, Libraries do not defend or endorse the content found in their collections or in resources accessible through the Library. the classification systems that appear in public access library catalogs or resource discovery tools present distinct challenges to these principles of intellectual freedom. questions and answers about classification and labeling systems
expurgation of library materials: an interpretation of the library’s bill of rights (2014) expurgating library materials is a violation of the library’s bill of rights. redaction, as defined in this interpretation, includes any removal, excision, alteration, editing, or obliteration of any part of the library’s books or other resources by the library, its agent, or its parent institution (if applicable) .
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Restricted Access to Library Materials: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights (2014) Libraries are a traditional forum for the open exchange of information. attempts to restrict access to library materials violate the basic principles of the library’s bill of rights.
full list of library bill of rights interpretations
basic documents
library bill of rights (1939) adopted by the city council, the articles of the library bill of rights are unequivocal statements of the basic principles that should govern the service of all libraries. (printable brochures)
declaration of freedom to read (1953) a collaborative statement of literary, publishing, and censorship organizations declaring the importance of our constitutionally protected right to access information and affirming the need for our professions to oppose censorship.
Libraries: An American Value (1999) Adopted by the City Council, this brief statement declares the distinguished place of libraries in our society and its basic principles of access to materials and diversity of ideas.
guidelines
guidelines for the development and implementation of policies, regulations and procedures affecting access to library materials, services and facilities (2005) guidelines for librarians, government authorities and other library staff and library users on how to apply the constitutional principles to libraries in the united states.
intellectual freedom and censorship q&a (2007)
social media guidelines for public and academic libraries (2018)
These guidelines provide a policy and implementation framework for public and academic libraries using social media.
assistance and consultation
Office for Intellectual Freedom staff is available to answer questions or provide assistance to librarians, trustees, educators, and the public about the First Amendment and censorship. areas of assistance include policy development, children’s rights, and professional ethics. inquiries can be directed via email to oif@ala.org or by phone at (312) 280-4226.
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