Four Republican leaders -- including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Charles Pickering (R-Miss.) -- have introduced legislation in Congress that would require public schools and libraries to use Internet filters or lose federal funds earmarked for Web access.

The measure doesn't include any money for these groups to buy the needed software, however, and is opposed by a wide range of groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Library Association, a number of teachers unions and several Internet trade groups, the Associated Press reports.

The measure also has been criticized by individual chapters of the American Family Association and the Christian Coalition, AP reports.

Such a legislative mandate "fails to prepare our children to act responsibly as Internet citizens. Responsibility implies choice, but blocking removes all choice," ACLU representative Marvin Johnson wrote in a letter to lawmakers.

Groups such as the the Computer & Communications Industry Association and the Information Technology Association of America also point out that filtering software can miss a great deal of pornography, can shut out access to sites that have no explicit content, and can feature a political slant based on the sites to which they deny access, the AP reports.

The Clinton Administration also opposes such mandatory filtering for public or school computers, but has included funds for filters in the proposed budget for the the Education, Labor and Health and Human Services departments.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has offered an alternative measure that would require Internet service providers to provide filtering software to public schools and libraries for free or at cost, but would not restrict federal funding to these groups, the news service reports.

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