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Filtering's other flaw (March 1, '02 issue)
Filtering's flaws have been well publicized - the fact that these software products and services both under-block and over-block Web content. But a just-released report spotlights a lesser-known flaw that deserves parents' and educators' attention. It's a two-fold one:
- The values and criteria used to decide what Web content a filtering product should block for children are those of the company that made the product.
- Those criteria are considered trade secrets by filtering software companies.
So parents and educators who've chosen to use filtering software cannot know what values and criteria are being applied to their children's Web surfing. That's not as much an issue at home, where no law concerning Internet-safety measures comes into play, but the school environment is a different matter. US schools receiving federal e-rate funds for Internet connectivity are now required by the recently passed Children's Internet Protection Act to use filtering or blocking technology on connected computers. In an effort to be CIPA-compliant, "school officials have essentially delegated control" of students' Internet experiences to filtering companies, with no way of knowing how that control is being exercised, according to the new report, "Filtering Software: The Religious Connection."
The study, by Nancy Willard, director of the University of Oregon's Responsible Netizen Project, focuses in particular on religious values that appear to be associated with eight software companies whose filtering products are used by US public schools (the report references separation of church and state under the First Amendment of the US Constitution).
The eight companies examined in the report are: "N2H2 (Bess), Symantec (I-Gear), 8e6 Technologies (R2000 or X-Stop), Solid Oak (CyberSitter), NetComply/711.Net, BSafeSchool/American Family Online, EduGuard/S4F, and SurfClear," with the filtering products in parentheses after their respective makers. Some of the companies "were active in efforts to ensure the passage of CIPA "through the efforts of a trade association called the Internet Safety Association (ISA) and through testimony provided to Congress," the report says, adding: "The other major champions of this legislation were conservative religious organizations."
The document explains US students' constitutional rights of access to information; provides specific evidence it found of relationships between software companies and religious organizations and of religious values they applied to filtering techniques; and offers recommendations for next steps, including independent review of filtering products and the importance of educating kids to apply their own and their families' values to their online experiences (developing the best filter possible - that between their ears!).
We asked Nancy what led her to look into this issue. She told us a press release she saw on the N2H2 Web site caught her attention. It was about the sale of N2H2 filtering software to a particular church. "I mentioned this on [an email discussion] list for educators," Nancy said in an email to us. "I know that an executive from N2H2 lurks on this list [visits but doesn't post comments]. Then the press release disappeared. And to the best of my ability to tell, this was the only press release that disappeared. I do not know whether these two happenings were related, but my curiosity was stimulated. So I started looking. And, to my amazement, I found more and more [examples of relationships between filtering companies and religious organizations]. In my first version of the report, I addressed only six companies. Then I found two more."
Nancy continued: "I really do not want anyone thinking that I am attacking their values. But respect for all values and the separation of church and state are really important concepts that are at the heart of our country's values. It is really important that the determination of what our children can and cannot access when they use the Internet at school not be dictated by one particular set of values. School administrators have made their selection of products without any knowledge of the background or other relationships of these filtering companies. There is no mechanism in place to ensure that these companies are making their decisions in accord with the constitutional standards that protect students' rights of access to information."
We also asked Nancy, a mother herself, what advice she'd offer parents seeking a filtering solution. Please see next week's issue for her answer.
Readers' comments on any aspect of this issue would be most welcome! Do email us via feedback@netfamilynews.org.
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