Safeguards sought against Internet porn.

If schools and libraries want federal money to subsidize Internet access, the Clinton administration says they should have policies to protect children from smut and other inappropriate material on the Web. L. Irving, chief of the Commerce Department_s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, urged the Federal Communications Commission, which oversees the Internet subsidies program, to require public schools and libraries to have such policies in place as a condition of receiving the subsidies. These policies should ``offer reasonable assurances to parents that safeguards will be in place in the school and library setting that permit users to be empowered to have educational experiences consistent with their values.' Irving said Thursday that the administration prefers this approach over ordering schools and libraries to use filtering or blocking software to keep kids away from the seamy side of the Internet. Bipartisan legislation pending in the Senate would require schools and libraries to install such computer software.