United States v. American Library Association, Inc., 539 U.S. 194, 22 (2003)

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Cite as: 539 U. S. 194 (2003)

Breyer, J., concurring in judgment

If some libraries do not have the capacity to unblock specific Web sites or to disable the filter or if it is shown that an adult user's election to view constitutionally protected Internet material is burdened in some other substantial way, that would be the subject for an as-applied challenge, not the facial challenge made in this case. See post, at 219-220 (Breyer, J., concurring in judgment).

There are, of course, substantial Government interests at stake here. The interest in protecting young library users from material inappropriate for minors is legitimate, and even compelling, as all Members of the Court appear to agree. Given this interest, and the failure to show that the ability of adult library users to have access to the material is burdened in any significant degree, the statute is not unconstitutional on its face. For these reasons, I concur in the judgment of the Court.

Justice Breyer, concurring in the judgment.

The Children's Internet Protection Act (Act) sets conditions for the receipt of certain Government subsidies by public libraries. Those conditions require the libraries to install on their Internet-accessible computers technology, say, filtering software, that will help prevent computer users from gaining Internet access to child pornography, obscenity, or material comparably harmful to minors. 20 U. S. C. §§ 9134(f)(1)(A)(i) and (B)(i); 47 U. S. C. §§ 254(h)(6)(B)(i) and (C)(i). The technology, in its current form, does not function perfectly, for to some extent it also screens out constitutionally protected materials that fall outside the scope of the statute (i. e., "overblocks") and fails to prevent access to some materials that the statute deems harmful (i. e., "under-blocks"). See 201 F. Supp. 2d 401, 448-449 (ED Pa. 2002); ante, at 208-209 (plurality opinion). In determining whether the statute's conditions consequently violate the First Amendment, the plurality first finds the "public forum" doctrine inapplicable, ante, at 205-208, and then holds that the statutory provisions are constitutional. I agree with

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