Parents are worried about the Internet, but not because of access costs or down times. They're worried instead about the threat of online pornography and its easy accessibility.
To counter this, many parents and some schools, libraries and community centers are installing online filtering software, though this action requires confidence the program will do its job.
The companies producing these programs say they block only those Web sites they consider to be obscene, pornographic or otherwise explicit, but generally refuse to disclose which sites are on their blacklists.
This is where the American Civil Liberties Union comes in. The civil rights organization argues that people have a right to know exactly what sites the software blocks, especially if government-funded groups such as schools and public libraries are using the filters.
Anti-censorship activists have proven that some filters block harmless Web sites, such as the American Association of University Women, the New York Times reports.
Many sites related to gay and lesbian political action and health issues have been blocked by filters, as another example.
The ACLU earlier this year defended three Web publishers who posted lists of sites blocked by CyberPatrol, an Internet filter, and linking to a program that circumvented the filters.
The publishers -- The Breaking of Cyber Patrol 4, Peacefire and Waldo.Net -- argue that such lists should be open for public review to see if they reflect possible political, social and/or religious bias.
The Web publishers learned recently that the Library of Congress has determined that new federal regulations protect people who want to read such lists, the Times reports.
SurfControl, the company that sells CyberPatrol products, claims the ruling is essentially moot because the posted hacks don't work on the new version of the software. While the company still won't reveal a list of blocked sites, users can submit specific Web addresses to see if they are included in the filtering program.
The rulings are becoming more relevant in today's political climate. A bill before Congress would deny schools and libraries Internet access funds if they don't use Internet filters, the newspaper reports.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/
16/technology/16FILT.html
