Shining A Light on Filters

1. Shining A Light on Filters © 1998 Karen G. Schneider, MSLIS

2. What We Will Cover • What Filters Are & How They Work • The Internet Filter Assessment Project • The Role of Policy • Other Access Management Options

3. Filters are tools that block Internet content. They can: • Proscribe content • Allocate resources • Focus staff/students onto specific topics

4. Why Filters? • Fear of “bad stuff” on the Internet • Need to control resources • Belief that filters work • Lack of confidence in other solutions

5. Filter Blocking Technologies • Keyword blocking: blocking word patterns (breast, butt, death) • Site blocking: blocking pre-identified URLs • Web Rating Systems

6. Keyword vs. Site Blocking • Keyword blocking uses software to identify sites • Cheap but inaccurate • Site blocking uses humans to select and categorize URLS • Costlier but less inaccurate

7. Keyword Blocking: Obliterating In Context • Typical of Cybersitter, Net Nanny • “____on, _____on, who’s got the ____on” • “Because I could not stop for ______” • “The owl and the ____-cat went to sea”

8. Keyword and Site Blocking: Preventing Site Transmission • Entire files or directories are blocked • Typical of most filters

9. Site Lists Prevent Local Control • Hidden, proprietary information--you don’t know what’s being blocked • A shoebox fit for community values--one list for everyone • Site lists outsource library work to nonprofessional third parties

10. Other technologies: blocking by… • Category • Specific user or Workstation ID • Time of day • Protocol (nntp, ftp, irc…)

11. Job Search Cult/New Age Homosexuality Drugs Travel Abortion/Pro-Life Racism Religion Sports Tasteless Chat Vehicles Examples of Filter Categories

12. Types of Filter Software • Client Software • Cyber Patrol, Surfwatch, Net Shepherd • Server-based software--usually a proxy-server • Cyber Patrol, Websense, Smart Filter, I-Gear, X-Stop

13. Clients • A client is a single computer or workstation • Client software is “standalone” (one copy per computer)

14. Servers • Servers are computers that provide services to a network

15. Many server-based filters work with proxy servers • Proxy servers redirect Internet queries from your browser through the proxy server P Internet

16. Filter Pricing Examples • Client Software: $12-40/copy per year • Server software pricing examples: • $2,000/50-user license • $4,000 startup plus $1/computer monthly license • $2685 for 50 simultaneous users

17. How Filters Work...

18. Filter Sequence of Events • You tell your browser to go to a website • The filter reviews the request…. Is this site or word allowed or denied by the filter?

19. Other things on the filter’s mind: Is access allowed for this user...time of day...type of resource? Hmmmmmmmmm... Let me check and see

20. Filter Sequence of Events, Continued • If the site, word or other value is NOT denied, you go there. • Otherwise, you see the denial page.

21. Web Ratings: how they work <META http-equiv="PICS-Label" content='(PICS-1.1 "http://www.rsac.org/ratingsv01.html" l gen true comment "RSACi North America Server" by "kgs@bluehighways.com" for "http://www.bluehighways.com/tifap/" on “2000.08.30T12:22-0500" r (n 0 s 0 v 0 l 1))'>

22. Nudity = 0 Violence = 0 Sex = 0 Language = 1 So the Rating for TIFAP Is: r (n 0 s 0 v 0 l 1)

23. Rating System Logic • If your browser is set to use RSACi, • And your threshold in the language category is 0, • You will NOT see the TIFAP website

24. How about Library Channel? • “Selection” tool pointing to 18,000 URLs • Includes blocking mechanisms • Three indexed fields • Title, URL, keywords

25. Library Channel... • Didn’t fare well with TIFAP testers • Browsing environment felt strange • Retrieval dependent on subject drill-down • Terms such as penis, herpes, trich were not good access points

26. Librarians tested filters used real questions from patrons Filters were tested in different configurations Most vendors cooperated by sharing full-strength versions of their filters The Internet Filter Assessment Project

27. TIFAP’s Start:A Famous Alligator Story. . .

28. TIFAP Findings • Fully-configured filters interfered with question-answering 35% of the time • Keyword blocking was a major source of interference • No filter ever performed flawlessly in either “direction” (over-blocking or leakage)

29. Advice from TIFAP • Test Filters • Configure Filters • Filters need feedback and QA tools

30. Filters are not Magic Cookies • Filters let through sexually-explicit material • Filters block protected speech • Filters require funding and maintenance

31. Filters Provide Poor Feedback • This is not the level of information libraries provide patrons when material is unavailable.

32. What Else Can’t Filters Do? • Filters can’t prevent adults from preying on children • “Presumption of prurience”: filters can’t identify intent • Filters can’t teach appropriate behavior

33. Minimum criteria for a filter • Compatible with existing software and hardware • Able to communicate with your system software • Viewable content • Content controllable at the local level • Access controlled by patron status and/or patron choice

34. Real-World Tools for Internet Access Management

35. Policy is the First Tool • policies for behavior • how to manage people in public places

36. Amazing but TrueExamples of Behavior...

37. Library Patrons Behaving Badly: • Sex in the bathrooms • A man belly-crawling through stacks to lick patrons’ feet • Irate husband chasing wife with gun • Shootings • Mutilating or stealing books & equipment • Putting Polaroids of penises in books • Peepers, flashers, starers, followers, etc.

38. Policy is a Local Solution • policies are set by local Boards • Boards create policy based upon…

39. Policy Reflects School/Community • What works best right here, right now? • What keeps most people happy???

40. Policies for Adults • These people are not so much adults as they are employees. • Right to Privacy? • Search and Sezure? • Library policies generally tell adults what they can’t DISPLAY--not what they can’t READ • library vs. public library vs. classroom with books

41. Policies for Children Reflect Local Standards for Control • require parental consent for child use of computers with Web access?? • sometimes used with filtering

42. Strong PR Parental consent forms Privacy screens & desks Computer positioning Filtering User education Good media & government relations School Board cooperation Security/ resource tools Beyond Policy: Other Tools for Internet Access Management

43. Filter Option #1: Filter Nothing(And Do Nothing Else) • Does not address loud public debate on Internet content • Lost opportunities for proactive leadership

44. Filter Option #2:Proactively Choose Not to Filter • Friendliest toward commitment to open access • Most difficult to administer

45. Filter Option #3:Filter Everything • Potential for legal action • Negative impact on information services • Bad blood in the community

46. Filter Option #4:Filter Selectively • Filter children’s workstations • Filter some (all) adult workstations • Password or leveled access for staff

47. Other Internet AccessManagement Tools

48. User Education • It’s Popular • PR campaign • Aggressively proactive-- you set the tone

49. Privacy Screens • Some find them annoying(even MS teachers) • Can interfere with group work • Good for supporting privacy

50. Computer Positioning • “I’ll be right here (watching) if you have any questions”