The Alberta government has announced plans to implement changes in all public libraries to prevent children and younger teens from accessing material that includes graphic sexual images.
Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams introduced the measure on April 2 as part of omnibus Bill 28, which includes expanding child access restrictions on explicit materials to public libraries, increasing municipal accountability measures, building more homes in the province, and changing rules on vacant home taxes.
The bill, dubbed the Municipal Affairs and Housing Statutes Amendment Act, promises not to ban books in libraries but to take steps to make sure children younger than 16 can’t access explicit visual depictions of sex. The act calls for such materials to be physically separate, such as placed behind a counter, and to require parental permission to access….