Filtering Elective

By: Katie Haley

Pros:

1. Filtering can protect children from accessing inappropriate websites and information.

2. Filtering can help teachers monitor what is being accessed on the internet. A filter cannot be expected to do all the work but it can help.

3. Filters can help parents feel more comfortable with their kids using the Internet. Parents should not let kids use the Internet unsupervised but if a good filter is in place many of their worries can be avoided.

4. Filters can help protect personal information about you so that outsiders cannot access information you don’t want them to see.

5. Filters can help keep porn kidnappers from making money off accidental access.

Cons:

1. Filters can impede legitimate research by over blocking sites.

2. Blocking software is not always accurate so teachers must be on their toes.

3. There are many new ways to bypass filtering software.

4. Filters can be treated as a babysitter. Parents need to supervise children on the Internet even if a good filter is in place.

5. It has been stated that filtering companies protect their list of blocked sites, so researchers cannot complete studies to make sure that there is no blocking bias.