Glasgow libraries ban Internet access
Published: 05 Mar 2001 08:26 GMT
Internet access has been banned from all Glasgow libraries after it was discovered that primary school children had been using the computers to download porn.
The local council has blocked Internet access from all of its 33 libraries after it was revealed that children had used computers at Castlemilk library to view adult pornography.
The scandal came to light after an eight-year-old girl admitted to her mum that she had seen an image of a naked woman on the Internet at Castlemilk library. The mother chose to investigate the problem herself and found a group of youths crowded around a computer looking at indecent images.
The council claims to have been unaware that the library was offering unlimited Internet access, after its original filtering software had been scrapped on the basis that it was too restrictive and blocked entry to newspaper Web sites.
Technicians are working to install new security filters on all library computers. The equipment is expected to be in place by the end of March, but Net access will not be restored until the software is proved to be working successfully.
The threat posed by pornography on the Internet was highlighted in February when seven Britons were sentenced for their participation in the world's largest Internet pornography ring dubbed the Wonderland club.
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