PROS
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CONS
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1. Internet filter companies usually have a
person review the blocked sites so they can avoid accidental blockings. Also,
when made aware of sites that shouldn't have been blocked, the company can
remove the site from it's blacklist.
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1. Filtering software not only blocks sites
that are useful (such as chicken breast recipes and breast cancer information)
because of the key word scanning, but also may deliberately block sites the
sites the filtering company does not agree with (such as a site promoting
the medicinal uses of marijuana.)
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2. There really are online "predators" searching
for ways to exploit children as well as many hard-core porn sites that most
people agree they would not want their children exposed to.
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2. New sites arrive everyday and some of them
are sites whose name was once considered "safe" (but was taken over by a
pornography site) hence the filters may not be current enough to block them.
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3. While nothing is perfect, and using a filter
is not advocating leaving children alone on the internet, these filters do
help a lot in the effort to keep children to appropriate sights.
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3. Parents and schools may think that they
have resolved themselves of responsibility by having these filters and leave
children on their own. The best technique would be for teachers/parents
to do pre-searches to find high quality sites and send children to those
sights.
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4. Filtering websites for children is not censorship
because it is not prohibiting the material from being created or posted,
it is just keeping it out of the hands of children.
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4. Filtering is censorship because it interferes with
the right to free speech and the right to information
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5. It is difficult, if not impossible to get
a list of blocked sites before purchasing and installing the program, making
predeterminations of appropriateness for your situation impossible.
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5. You can get a free trial period and try to link
to various sites to see if a particular program is right for you.
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