[LINK] The US version of content filtering
Jan Whitaker
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
Mon Dec 15 11:47:10 AEDT 2008
At least it's just one provider:
Free broadband plan stirs debate on filtering
http://news.theage.com.au/technology/free-broadband-plan-stirs-debate-on-filtering-20081215-6ygw.html
December 15, 2008 - 8:23AM
M2Z Networks' proposal to build a free wireless
broadband network is not the only controversial
part of its business plan. Just as contentious is
its intention to filter the content delivered
over that network to block any material deemed inappropriate for children.
Free-speech advocates on the left and right have
expressed alarm at M2Z's plans to build a
family-friendly network that would weed out
objectionable sites by blocking particular Internet domain names.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin
Martin took up that idea in his proposal to
auction off a chunk of spectrum that would be
used in part to deliver a basic broadband service
over the nation's airwaves. It would ultimately
be up to the FCC to decide exactly how any
filtering mandate would work, including whether
the filters would be located on the network or on user devices.
M2Z co-founder John Muleta says any company that
offers a free broadband service that is available
to everyone must figure out how to protect
children from illegal and unlawful material _
much as television networks must do with over-the-air TV broadcasts.
Yet this component of M2Z's plan has stirred a
long-running debate about who should determine
what constitutes "appropriate" content and about
how effective content filters truly are. Critics
say filters often make mistakes and block
legitimate sites, including resources about health and sexual education.
John Morris, general counsel for the Center for
Democracy & Technology, believes Martin's
content-filtering rule would be unconstitutional
because it would violate the First Amendment
rights of people whose Web sites are blocked, and
because parents already have access to a range of
online tools to control what their children see on the Internet.
Indeed, the latter argument was one point cited
by the Supreme Court in Reno v. American Civil
Liberties Union, a landmark 1997 ruling that
struck down a federal law regulating explicit material on the Internet.
To address these concerns, Martin's spectrum
proposal would require the winning bidder to
allow adults to opt out of content filtering.
But this raises a different problem, according to
Berin Szoka, a fellow at the Progress & Freedom
Foundation. That's because one benefit of a
broadband service open to all is that it offers
the potential for anonymity. The only way to
allow adults to opt out of content filtering,
however, would be to have users authenticate
themselves, Szoka said. And that, he said, would sacrifice anonymity.
© 2008
<http://news.theage.com.au/action/displayCopyrightNotice?sourceOrganisation=AP%20Digital>AP
DIGITAL
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com
personal: http://www.janwhitaker.com/personal/
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
Our truest response to the irrationality of the
world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer
Writing Lesson #54:
Learn to love revision. Think of it as polishing
the silver for guests. - JW, May, 2007
_ __________________ _
--
Checked by AVG.
Version: 7.5.552 / Virus Database: 270.9.18/1848 - Release Date: 14/12/2008 12:28 PM
More information about the Link
mailing list