Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
organization in Denver.”** Companies can justify using filtering
software for their employees' computers by citing issues of pro
ductivity or equipment requirements, and employees may not be
aware that they do not have unrestricted access to the World
Wide Web.
Similarly, you may want to check if your ISP, such as Earthlink
or America Online, is using filtering software. The ISP may argue
that it cannot know just who will use its connections, so it wants to
set a cautious policy to protect possible younger users. If the ISP
normally filters Internet materials, you may be able to turn a filter
off to gain unrestricted access—but this may require special action
on your part.
If we move beyond the use of filtering software to protect chil
dren and job productivity, we will find that there is nearuniver
sal agreement regarding the importance of access to materials by
adults; at least this appears to be a widely held belief in the
United States. When applied to adults on their own time (not at
work), the blocking of Internet materials may be viewed as con
trary to the United States Bill of Rights. The accompanying side
bar gives the text of a resolution by the American Library
Association Council, adopted on July 2, 1997; it overtly protects
Internet communications based on the rules set forth in the First
Amendment.
The idea that freedom of speech protection laws apply to Web
communications raises an interesting and important question. If fil
tering software is to be used as an aid for parents in supervising
their children, how can filtering software be designed and used so it
can be effective for children but also provide unrestricted access to
adults? To work in both modes, the software must allow adults to
bypass filtering, while maintaining controls for children. Often this
is done through a password mechanism, although there are conflict
ing data and arguments about how effective password protection
can be. (Recall that we discussed passwords and their effectiveness
in some detail in Chapter 10.)
**Karen J. Bannan. “Clean It Up”
PC Magazine
, September 25, 2001. 20(16): 102.
