An Arizona lawmaker has ended her attempt to regulate Internet access by university students, presumably including college student media staffs.
Rep. Jean McGrath, R-Glendale, reported Feb. 10 that she will drop a bill that would have prohibited the use of campus Internet connections for “any activity that is not directly related to a specific educational purpose.” She said she will also drop a bill that would have required the university to install software filters to block access to sexually graphic material.
The legislation had been criticized by university officials and students as being unnecessarily restrictive and “Orwellian.”
McGrath said she still wants universities to find a way to keep students from accessing pornography on taxpayer-funded systems, but will focus her efforts on her remaining bill directed at the state’s schools: banning opposite-sex guests from university dorm rooms.
Legislation: 2000 AZ H.B. 2024; 2000 AZ H.B. 2025