The city of Huntington Beach, California, must pay nearly $1 million in legal fees after losing a court case over its library book restriction policy. The policy aimed to block minors from accessing material labeled as sexual content. Courts ruled it amounted to illegal censorship.
The ruling comes after the city implemented measures to restrict certain books in its public libraries. Officials had framed the policy as a way to protect young readers from inappropriate material. Judges found the approach violated constitutional standards on free access to information.