Transcript Families, Filtering, and Libraries

Families, Filtering,
and Libraries
Barry Fagin, PhD
Co-founder, Families Against Internet
Censorship
1997 NYLA Annual Conference
[email protected]
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Who we are and why we care
about this issue
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shell.rmi.net/~fagin/nyla.ppt
Grassroots group, international
organization.
Virtual community: Most members
have never met face to face.
All members have internet access
and at least one child living at
home
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Overview
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shell.rmi.net/~fagin/nyla.ppt
Personal background
History of FAIC, CDA
Visit FAIC web site
Position on Internet Filtering
Position on Internet Filtering in
Public Libraries
“Real-World” Scenarios
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Personal Background
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Barry Fagin -- PhD from
UC Berkeley, computer
science professor,
online since 1982
Michele Fagin -- JD
USF, admitted to bar in
4 states, full time mom
for 9 years
Parents of Max (9) and Erica (7), both active net users
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History of FAIC and CDA
1996
1997
1998
DEC
Passage of CDA
appears likely.
FAIC formed.
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CDA signed into
law. FAIC joins
plaintiffs group.
1996
DEC
History of FAIC and CDA
1997
1998
FEB
Passage of CDA
appears likely.
FAIC formed.
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CDA signed into
law. FAIC joins
plaintiffs group.
1996
DEC
History of FAIC and CDA
CDA case argued
in Phil. Court of
Appeals
1997
1998
FEB MAR
Passage of CDA
appears likely.
FAIC formed.
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CDA signed into
law. FAIC joins
plaintiffs group.
History of FAIC and CDA
CDA case argued
in Phil. Court of
Appeals
1996
DEC
1997
1998
FEB MAR JUN
Passage of CDA
appears likely.
FAIC formed.
shell.rmi.net/~fagin/nyla.ppt
DOJ enjoined from
enforcing CDA.
DOJ appeals.
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CDA signed into
law. FAIC joins
plaintiffs group.
History of FAIC and CDA
CDA case argued
in Phil. Court of
Appeals
1996
DEC
1997
FEB MAR JUN
Passage of CDA
appears likely.
FAIC formed.
shell.rmi.net/~fagin/nyla.ppt
Supreme Court
hears oral argument.
1998
MAR
DOJ enjoined from
enforcing CDA.
DOJ appeals.
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CDA signed into
law. FAIC joins
plaintiffs group.
History of FAIC and CDA
CDA case argued
in Phil. Court of
Appeals
1996
DEC
1997
FEB MAR JUN
Passage of CDA
appears likely.
FAIC formed.
shell.rmi.net/~fagin/nyla.ppt
Supreme Court
hears oral argument.
1998
MAR
DOJ enjoined from
enforcing CDA.
DOJ appeals.
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JUL
Court issues
ruling in Reno
v. ACLU et al.
CDA found
unconstitutional
(Unanimous!)
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FAIC Web Site
shell.rmi.net/~fagin/faic
• Resources for
online parenting,
censorship issues
• Filtering links
• Personal statements from our
members
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Internet Filters:
Exclusive and Inclusive
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Exclusive filters have default
connectivity: “You can’t read these
books, but everything else is OK”
Inclusive filters have default
blocking: “You can only read these
books, everything else is banned”
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Problems with exclusive filters:
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Most companies view list of blocked sites as
proprietary, intellectual property. (Encryption
used, however, can be embarrassingly
primitive).
Not good if you need to know what was blocked
and why.
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Keyword blocking is hard to do properly. Need
context, hard AI problem.
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Moby Dick
 Scunthorpe,
 John
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UK web sites
Sexton (Dean, NYU School of Law)
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Problems with inclusive filters:
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Conflict with dynamic nature of WWW. Virtually
impossible to keep current.
Presents sanitized, miniscule portion of virtual
world to users
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FAIC Position on Internet
Filtering
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It is a parent’s responsibility, privilege, and right
to determine what their children see on the net.
Filtering software can help many parents do this.
“Technology provides more control over what
comes into your home than any act of Congress
ever could.”
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FAIC Position on Internet
Filtering in Libraries
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FAIC is opposed to the blanket installation of
filtering software in public libraries
Several reasons ...
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Antithetical to library mission
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Mission of public libraries is to improve public’s
access to information, provide access to as
much information as possible
Filtering software conflicts with this goal
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Family values vary widely
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Some families rely heavily on filtering software,
others don’t use it at all
Good parenting requires making fine
distinctions. Material that my children aren’t
ready for now, but will eventually permit access
as they mature. Library terminals with filtering
software can’t make that kind of distinction.
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Filtering software constrains the
virtual world
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Using blockers restricts the online world that
adults can see to one fit only for children.
Supreme Court has explicitly ruled similar
restrictions unconstitutional for print media
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Trust issues: whose interests
are paramount?
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Mandatory blocking software on library
terminals values parents who do not trust their
children over those who do
(If that is other side’s intention, they should say
so.)
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Other mechanisms exist
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Use computer cards for terminal access
Require signed document for minors and their
parents indicating awareness of policies
regarding computer use
Predicted librarian reaction:
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Exception: children’s areas
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If the library has a separate children’s area with
internet access, many of these concerns are
not relevant
Recommend inclusive filter. Prevents incidents
with high shock value, “sanitized” view of
internet not important issue for small kids
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“Real-World” Scenarios
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Where pressures for filtering will come from
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Arguments that will be made
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How to respond
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Personal experiences
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Live in Colorado Springs, “Focus on the
Family” headquarters, culturally conservative
town
Member of Temple Shalom
Teach at US Air Force Academy, military
institution
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Who is on the other side?
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Good people, committed to living moral,
integrated lives. Want to do the right thing.
Genuine love for America, desire to help
country
Genuine anger with America’s problems
Keep all this in mind, avoid demonization.
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Scenario A:
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I don’t want my kid
watching porn on the
internet!
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Response:
“Then tell him to stop looking for it.”
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Remember: the Net is an interactive medium.
It is not like TV!
Everything on the net has to be sought out by
a user.
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“But I can’t supervise him all the time!”
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Neither can the library
A parent who can’t trust his child deserves
compassion and understanding.
He does not deserve to have a policy that
hurts others as compensation.
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Scenario B:
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You don’t have hard
core pornography on
your shelves. Why
should you have it on
your computers?
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Response:
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Metaphor is wrong. It takes effort to get books
for your collection; no effort involved in not
stocking something.
Opposite is true online. It takes no effort to
include portions of the web. It takes effort to
exclude them.
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Note: watch for phrase “hard core
pornography”
Supreme Court has ruled that it’s not entitled to
First Amendment protection (obscenity).
Individuals who make it available to minors on
the net can (and have been) successfully
prosecuted.
Big issues are with more controversial topics
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Scenario C:
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But what if a kid
sees something by
accident?
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Response:
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The odds of encountering an inappropriate
image (one containing graphic violence or
sexual content) accidentally are incredibly
small. The stories you’ve heard are just that:
stories.
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Response:
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What you can encounter are links to
unexpected sites, as a result of a query to a
search engine.
Try some examples ...
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Pretend you had access to every printed book
ever written. Would you really want to see
every book that contains the word “women”?
Would you be surprised if some of those
books were inappropriate for children?
This type of scenario will vanish over time as
users become more sophisticated. Even kids
will get the hang of it, probably faster than
their parents.
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When you hear a horror story, ask some
critical questions.
What was the URL? How did you find it?
Show me how to visit it so we can track down
the individuals responsible.
Confirm that it wasn’t just search engine
related.
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Deliberate Misuse
and Shock Value
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It is trivial for someone who wants to create
controversy to bring up disturbing material on
any computer connected to the internet,
filtered or not.
Several unpleasant scenarios possible
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Malicious user can disable filter
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Bring in floppy disk
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Store images on personal web site and upload
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Little can be done to prevent a determined user.
Get technically knowledgeable people on staff,
can help make computers less vulnerable.
Protect yourself, your staff, and the institution
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Scenario D:
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I don’t want my tax
dollars supporting
pornography!
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Response:
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Emphasize that no web sites, pornographic or
otherwise, get any tax dollars from the library
(You may pay an ISP with adult-oriented
newsgroups or chat rooms, but those are
separate from the library’s connection)
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Scenario D:
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Well, I don’t want my tax
dollars supporting kids
looking at pornography!
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Response:
“Neither do we.”
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“That’s why we have appropriate use policies,
and why anyone who misuses our facilities
will lose the right to use them”
Online policies should require parent and
minor child signatures, include liability waiver
drafted with advice of counsel
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Encourages parents and kids to talk about this
issue
Protects library and librarians, spells out
limitations of blocking technology
Makes expectations clear
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Helping Parents, Even if They’re
Ignorant :-)
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Have policies in place that permit parents to
structure their child’s internet access:
computer access card
Options must include having no access at all
If you have to have some filtered machines,
make “filtered only” an option as well
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Q: Isn’t FAIC being hypocritical, saying that
filters are a bad idea but that parents should
be allowed to keep their kids off the net at a
public library?
No. We have a consistent, principled stance
on allowing parents to determine what their
kids can see online. That includes seeing
nothing at all.
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We recognize the political climate that many
libraries function in. If you are required to
filter some terminals, having different types of
computer access is a reasonable
accommodation to parents. (Make sure
policy spells out limitations of blocking
technology!)
Culturally conservative parents are taxpayers
too. Try to imagine how they feel.
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Predicted librarian reaction:
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Restricting what young people see,
particularly teenagers, may not be popular
with this audience.
Some extra work involved in allowing parents
input into their child’s computer activities at
the library
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“Just do it.”
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Supporting parents cuts across political lines
Builds community, reduces tension
Parenting today is hard enough already. We
need all the help we can get.
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Conclusions
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FAIC supports parents’ use of filtering software
FAIC is opposed to blanket filtering in public
libraries, but supports use of filtering on some
computers if constituent parents want it
Recommend use of explicit online policies
drafted with attorney, require parent and child
signature
Help all kinds of parents, from those who let
their kids anywhere on the net to those who
don’t let them near it.
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“This too shall pass.”
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The net will eventually become ordinary and
ubiquitous
Children will not turn into reprobates based on
what they find there
Will eventually be able to return to what
librarians do best: helping people find out
more about the world.
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Predicted librarian reaction:
This talk available on the web at:
shell.rmi.net/~fagin/nyla.ppt
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