NEW YORK (PIX11) -- In three seconds, close to 84,000 people will go online and watch Internet porn. And it turns out that some of those people may be doing it on taxpayer-funded computers at New York's Public Libraries.
It is all thanks to a policy, at all city libraries, that gives adults uncensored access to any Internet porn. The ability to access the porn falls under the free speech clause and the protection of the first amendment said library officials.
"It's hard for me to imagine that anyone would want to watch it in a public place," said a mother of two walking into the
Brooklyn library.
But not all computers inside the library have a privacy screen so people who are not viewing the XXX flicks get a glimpse anyway. Jean, 74, of Brooklyn, came across someone watching while looking for a computer to check her email.
"First, I was in shock. I don't approve, what you do in your own home you can't do in public," said Jean.
But the library said it's not in their jurisdiction to ban the steamy online movies.
"The library provides access to anything that's protected by the First Amendment rights," said Brooklyn Library spokesperson, Richard Reyes-Gavilan.
Porn in the library has become a nationwide debate that has cities split on different sides of the issue.
Some major cities, like
Los Angeles, allows people to click on porn sites. But in Washington State, it has been banned from all libraries.
By law, libraries across the country are only required to block illegal or obscene content --like child pornography.
"It's not the libraries' job to teach taste," said Reyes-Gavilan.
Filters on the computers in the library block anyone under 17 years of age from watching XXX flicks, but it's possible to change the security settings at any time.