tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338174527262061848.post7030106803022336518..comments2023-09-29T08:51:56.163-07:00Comments on Coyle's InFormation: Internet Filters and Strange BedfellowsKaren Coylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02519757456533839003noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338174527262061848.post-90804007475556440292007-02-28T08:14:00.000-08:002007-02-28T08:14:00.000-08:00Filters will be inherently political, manipulated ...Filters will be inherently political, manipulated the way newspapers are, to stifle valid information that commercial interests consider controversial enough to risk losing money. I read that at least one filter company included the word "homosexual" among its index of blocked terms, and I can envision political pressure to make that the norm.<BR/>Monitoring Internet safety is a human job, and best left to the librarians, who should be willing to disallow pornography on public computers, if they want to mute hysteria and truly protect free speech.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338174527262061848.post-10410524237563481442006-10-24T14:23:00.000-07:002006-10-24T14:23:00.000-07:00Actually, Bruce Ennis argued for the American Libr...Actually, Bruce Ennis argued for the American Library Association before the Supreme Court that filters were a less restrictive alternative to muzzling the speaker in the Communications Decence Act case. The ACLU/ALA won that case in 1997 - and it's really the same argument in the COPA case. Filters installed by folks who don't want to receive smut IS a better, less restrictive alternative to stopping speakers from speaking.<br /><br />The problem with filters, besides the over/underblocking inherent when using technology to block imprecise speech/pictures, is that they inevitably get used by the government. When private parents use them, it's not a government restriction, but rather another alternative for users to choose. <br /><br />YES a giant waste of everyone's dollars to litigate this stuff, but both sides feel passionately about the issues of free speech and protecting children from porn. <br /><br />- Mary M.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com