Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) Compliance and Filtering

If your library receives some or all of its Internet connectivity through the Maine School and Library Network (MSLN), and does not pay a yearly fee for unfiltered access, then your library must be compliant with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). CIPA is a law that requires schools and libraries receiving federal money through the E-rate program (in Maine, most schools and libraries that are members of MSLN receive money through E-rate for their Internet connection) to do three things:

  1. Write an Internet safety policy that discusses several key issues of Internet safety, especially for minors;
  2. Hold a public meeting to review and ratify the policy;
  3. Implement a content filter on all school or library computers and devices able to connect to the Internet. Libraries must also disable this filter at the request of an adult.

The links below are resources to assist libraries in understanding CIPA and its requirements, achieving CIPA compliance, and utilizing the Networkmaine-provided content filter, OpenDNS.

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