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The Debate Over Filtering 2005 Revision

On One Hand...

On the Other Hand...

The First Amendment guarantees Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press. Under the First Amendment, Internet Sites are protected, and filtering becomes a form of censorship, since filters restrict the types of information that can be accessed. Schools are a public place, therefore, it is not the school’s responsibility to decide for each student what information he or she may access.

What implications does this present for schools allowing students to use the Internet?

Students may have access to websites that contain objectionable material, including hate sites, sexually explicit material, advertising, and controversial materials.

Responsibility for who can access materials, and what types of materials can be accessed lies with parents, teachers, and students.

1st Amendment Advocacy Organizations:

American Civil Liberties Union

Electronic Privacy Information Center

Center for Democracy and Technology

Citizens’ Internet Empowerment Coalition

Cato Institute

Parents want to protect their children from pornography, hate sites, content, and communication that conflicts with the values they have taught their children. Schools are a place where students should be able to learn without encountering objectionable material without parental supervision.

What implications does this present for schools allowing students to use the Internet?

Students may have limited access to websites that are free from objectionable material.

Responsibility for who can access materials and what types of materials can be accessed lies with the government, schools and libraries.

Child Protection Advocacy Organizations

American Family Association

Family Research Council

National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families

As the Internet has become accessible to the average citizen, vast amounts of information have become available as well. As with any technology, it has come with its costs. Although traditional types of information are more readily available, more controversial types of information have become accessible as well. Schools, hoping to take advantage of the Internet as an educational resource, connect to the Internet and find themselves having to decide how to handle the inherent dangers of Internet access. An obvious answer is to invest in Filtering Software, which claims to provide online protection against the more undesirable elements of Web navigation.

Filters

How Internet Filters Work:

http://www.cpsr.org/prevsite/onenet/filters.html