On October 1st, the Ottawa public library installed software to prevent people from viewing child pornography on library computers. Until then, it was possible to search the internet for child porn on library terminals or on a personal laptop using library wifi.
The library says it made the changes to mitigate risk. “Part of our public internet policy - you can’t look for anything illegal, “ says Jennifer Stirling, Division Manager, System-wide Services & Innovation for Ottawa Public Library. “ We just wanted to mitigate that risk and remove as much illegal content as possible.”
While there are strict filters in place for what children can access on library computers. Adults could view they want online. In early September a man was charged after viewing child porn. Officials say that's the only reported case.
Stirling says, until recently, there was no software that could tell if it was an adult or child in the pornographic video. “There was no way to differentiate child porn so it could theoretically been accessed before,” says Stirling.
People can still surf for adult porn sites at Ottawa public libraries. While the library doesn’t condone the behavior, viewing adult porn isn’t illegal. “Intellectual freedom is one of the tenets of being able to learn and grow as a person,” says Stirling.
