For Many State Workers, an Unknown Restriction

Smith said he'd counsel every state employee in the country to be careful about what they do online: "I like to err on the side of safety. If going online at work would take you into what some might call indecent areas, I would make sure my supervisor knew that."

Rarely Publicized, Rarely Enforced

In its first incarnation, the law banned state employees from viewing, downloading, uploading or otherwise manipulating "sexually explicit" material on state-owned computers without permission from administrators. An updated version of the law, passed before it was ruled constitutional by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, narrowed its scope by defining material as "sexually explicit" only if it had "lascivious" images and depictions as a dominant theme.

The problem, say opponents, is that even if educators are able to discern between lascivious and non-lascivious sites, many will still need to look up objectionable material in the course of their normal studies. By forcing professors to ask permission before beginning a search, the law could have what civil libertarians call a "chilling effect," cutting off some research efforts before they even begin.

Of course, to feel threatened by the law, employees need to know about it.

"This was intended to keep some clerk in the Department of Transportation or something from getting pornographic Web sites. My sense is that 95 percent of people don't even know this law exists. If 95 percent of the faculty don't know they're supposed to do this, it's not chilling anything," William and Mary's Feiss said.

Sharon Hays, a sociology professor at the University of Virginia, said she wasn't aware of the law and had never been told by administrators that she should seek permission before viewing sexually explicit material. Hays, whose women's-studies courses cover radical feminism, says many of her students end up doing reports on Internet pornography -- reports she needs to check on her school-issued computer.

"If we had received such a memo then you would have seen professors stand up and take an interest. The fact that we're in the dark about it is the reason that we're not up in arms about it," Hays said.

For their part, university officials have shown little interest in either publicizing or enforcing the rule.

University of Virginia spokeswoman Carol Wood said it's up to individual faculty members to know and abide by the law and individual department heads to enforce it. The school has only recorded two incidents of staff members being disciplined under the law and Wood would not release details of either case. "It hasn't been a big problem for us."

It's a similar story at other schools. Feiss said William and Mary has issued no guidance to faculty about the law. Old Dominion University Provost Thomas Isenhouer said that information about the law is included in the packet of materials that new employees must read and sign, but said the school hasn't had to enforce it. Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker said the school feels the matter is addressed adequately under its "appropriate use" policy for school-owned computers.