Internet Filtering for Students

Which way should schools go??
Pros of Filtering	Cons of Filtering
1. Children need to be protected from Internet pornography. (Porno) 2. Parents should have the right to control what their children view. (Parents) 3. Viewing pornography online can negatively affect children's values in such areas as valuing women and understanding their own sexuality. (Values) 4. The Internet is a unique medium, and filtering should not be viewed as the same kind of censorship as removing an offensive book from a shelf. (Testimony) 5. There are enough "family friendly" websites so that any sites blocked by filtering devices will not really be missed or needed in schools. (Approved Sites)	1. Filtering companies can (and have) deliberately blocked sites that are critical of themselves, so that their choices are sometimes self-serving. (Blacklist) 2. The filters are given too much power, and, as with the "Mudcrawler" filter of X-Stop Blocking software, are allowing software to make complex, ethical decisions. (X-Stop Files) 3. Using filters inhibits free speech, which is guaranteed by the First Amendment. (Lawcenter) 4. The blocking software has low accuracy, and blocks out many legitimate learning sites. 5. Blocking filters in schools can contribute to a "racial digital divide", restricting access to some information to those more affluent students who can afford Internet access at home. (Filter flap)

No matter which way schools in your community decide to go, parents, educators and responsible caring adults must take actions to minimize the risks and increase the learning potential of the Internet. Here is a great site to help! Safety Primer at http://www.techcorps.org/resources/internetsafety/primer.html

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Internet Filtering for Students

Pros of Filtering

Cons of Filtering