JP> For a range of companies producing so-called "blocking software"
JP> designed to keep kids from accessing undesirable material in
JP> cyberspace, the road to such a moral high ground turns out to be a
JP> slippery slope. These programs, spawned in the wake of the hysteria
JP> over how much porn Junior might find on the Net, have chosen the role
JP> of online guardians. The resulting array of applications, including
JP> names like SurfWatch, CyberPatrol, NetNanny and CyberSitter, acts as 
JP> a
JP> kind of digital moral compass for parents, educators, paranoid
JP> Congressmen, and puritanical PTAs.
JP> But there's a darker side. A close look at the actual range of sites
JP> blocked by these apps shows they go far beyond just restricting
JP> "pornography." Indeed, some programs ban access to newsgroups
JP> discussing gay and lesbian issues or topics such as feminism. Entire
JP> *domains* are restricted, such as HotWired. Even a web site dedicated
JP> to the safe use of fireworks is blocked.
JP> But CyberPatrol doesn't stop at EFF and MIT. It also goes after gun 
JP> and
JP> Second Amendment pages including http://www.shooters.com/,
    Let CyberPatrol do that, and don't worry.
    Someone will sell a _conservative_ competitor that will protect your kid 
from being brainwashed by material on Clintonista sites on the Net!
--- Simplex BBS (v1.07.00Beta [DOS])
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