The IFLA's Senior Policy Advisor, Stuart Hamilton, wrote:

"As an ISP, a library can be made responsible for the monitoring of their networks for copyright infringement and incur significant financial obligations as a result. As a subscriber, libraries are likely to receive notifications from their ISP to the effect that a copyright owner has made a report against them for alleged copyright infringement. The financial and time costs of complying with or appealing against this type of situation cannot be underestimated, nor can the types of penalty that could be imposed on libraries as result of an infringement by an individual user, such as the imposition of technical measures (such as reductions in quality of internet service, which ultimately affect library users).

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The imposition of new restrictions on library networks runs counter to the library’s vital mission of providing freedom of access to information to its users. Not only does the legislation potentially lead to or encourage the adoption of blocking technologies that are valuable for learning and information sharing in an educational context, it also raises fundamental freedom of expression and privacy issues as public bodies inevitably monitor the activities of their users.

The chilling effect of the monitoring of Internet use should not be underestimated, and the electronic recording of library users’ information seeking activities is not consistent with a democratic approach to access to knowledge. Library users should be free to seek information without barriers, and without fear of surveillance."