I don't have our textbook in front of me, and I'm pretty sure that's where I was reading about this, but this week I have been thinking about the difference in regulations and rules regarding the Internet as opposed to television and radio. The FCC standards for broadcast television and radio are so strict, especially after the Janet Jackson super bowl incident and subsequent crackdown.
My husband does a radio show on a community radio station where he plays music (and, by station rules, 80% of what he plays has to be on independent music labels) and he was trained about the 7 words you can't say on the air, although he can play songs containing profanities after eleven o'clock at night. The CDs he chooses are supposed to be previewed for swear words, but this isn't always complete or accurate. There is a procedure for if he accidentally plays something with a swear word in it: he has to immediately stop the CD and log the incident.
What really scares me is that he and other radio DJs are considered to be personally liable for what they play on the air - if the FCC went after him for playing a song with 'fuck' in the lyrics, not only could the radio station be fined, but he could be fined as well. I wonder if there is something similar that could happen with CIPA - could an individual librarian be held responsible for an incident where a child saw something inappropriate on the Internet? Could a librarian potentially be arrested for something like that, if a kid saw some porn on a computer at the library?
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