Two-thirds of American adults go online

... and one-third do not, says a press release from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. 68%, or about 137 million people, use the Internet, up from 63% a year ago.

Age plays a significant factor. Pew reports "26% of Americans age 65 and older go online, compared with 67% of those age 50-64, 80% of those age 30-49, and 84% of those age 18-29." And while 53% of users now have broadband Internet access at home (up from 21% in 2002), seniors and people with lower household incomes or less education are less likely to have broadband.

Susannah Fox, associate director of the Pew Internet Project, characterizes it this way: "There are three degrees of internet access – cold, tepid, and hot." There are the people who are not online at all, the people with dial-up who use the Internet intermittently, and the "broadband elite" who work online everyday and are "devoted to their online pursuits."

FCC extends wiretap law to universities and libraries

The New York Times reports that the Federal Communications Commission in August extended the provisions of a 1994 wiretap law to universities, libraries, commercial Internet service providers, and airports and municipalities (like San Francisco or Philadelphia) that provide Internet access to the public. All Internet providers must comply with the law by spring 2007.

The law, the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, would require re-engineering networks so that all communications would be passed to a network operations center where data packets could be copied to law enforcement before traveling onto the Internet.

The universities are the most vocal objectors, arguing that the requirements will cost them billions of dollars while doing little to catch criminals. But the Justice Department is concerned that, as communication channels move from switched phone systems into digital communications moving in packets across the Internet, criminal suspects can easily evade surveillance. The FCC is considering exempting educational institutions from some of the law's provisions.

One third of Internet activity is through educational reference websites

A Neilsen/NetRatings report shows that "educational reference Web sites attracted nearly 46.4 million Web users to reach 31 percent of the active Internet universe in September 2005." Growth is largely led by the exploding popularity of Wikipedia and Yahoo!Education.

Los Angeles County supervisors direct librarian to filter computers

Reported in the Santa Clarita Valley Signal, "The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion Tuesday to direct the county librarian to block access to pornography on computers in the county's public libraries." At the Board's request, the library had written a report detailing methods to prevent children from reaching harmful materials, and recommendations included privacy screens on all monitors and content filters on children's computers.

Software Makers Supply Tools to Censor Web

A report from the OpenNet Initiative reveals that filtering technologies developed by Western countries (including Microsoft, Cisco, and Yahoo) are used by autocratic foreign governments to control their citizens' Internet access. John Palfrey, the director of Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet and Society and a researcher with the OpenNet Initiative, is concerned that American companies are profitting directly from the censoring regimes, including Myanmar, which is under U.S. sanctions.

Reported in the New York Times.

FBI demands library records under Patriot Act

Using powers granted to them under the Patriot Act, the FBI demanded circulation records from a Connecticut library.

On Friday, September 9, federal judge ruled the Patriot Act's gag order unconstitutional, but stayed the ruling until September 20 for the government to appeal. The gag order was reinstated by the US Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court denied the appeal, saying the U.S. District Court of Appeals should be given time to consider the consitutionality of the case.

Background, links, and on-going coverage are available from the Connecticut Library Association site.