FORCING FILTERS ON SCHOOLS
Issue: Ed-Tech
[Editorial] Part of Congress's unfinished business is a measure that could
impede Internet access for schools and libraries receiving support from the
"e-rate." A stalled Education Department appropriations bill would require
schools that take advantage of the government-discounted rates for Internet
connections to certify that they use some kind of software to block
obscenity, child pornography and "material harmful to minors." But Internet
"filtering" technologies are an unreliable solution that often block far
more or far less than intended. Currently, no product is capable of
precisely blocking the materials targeted by the legislation. Many school
districts have decided against using filters, preferring some form of
Internet-use policy combined with disciplinary measures. The legislation
puts Congress in the position of severely limiting the local autonomy of
school districts that it otherwise claims to support.
[SOURCE: Washington Post 12/4 (A26), AUTHOR: Editorial]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20069-2000Dec3.html)