“When good sites turn bad”: the ethics of digital libraries and internet legislation

Abstract

Purpose – To examine how well internet legislation that is imposed on libraries actually works, and to suggest ways of improving regulatory control of the web with a view to helping digital library service provision.Design/methodology/approach – A summary description of two library‐related instances of dealing with morally objectionable web content, combined with an analysis of the range of regulatory responses to these examples.Findings – That draconian web‐oriented legislation in the most overtly controversial areas of the internet can harm more that it can help; and that an active but more measured legislative response to other areas of internet management where there is need for greater regulation would be welcome.Research limitations/implications – There is a clear need for deeper investigation of the practical effect and actual outcomes of authoritarian internet regulation on information users, as opposed to the superficial intentions of such law‐making.Practical implications – Firm suggestions for ...