Fight Censorship

Film & TV

Why the discrepancy between the results of the two surveys on the right? Because the motion picture rating system reflects the religion-based bias of the population. This shows the irrationality of the religious mindset very clearly and we are all affected by it on a daily basis.

Many religious zealots consider themselves the "moral police" of society and are determined to ban access to opinions which differ from they're own. Censorship of internet access in public libraries is unconstitutional. You can report censorship and get advice from the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC)

Public Libraries

We have access to such a vast amount of information right in the comfort of our own homes in the 21st century. There are of course limits to what is available to us such as national security threats and some material that is illegal. Otherwise, we are free to browse all the resources of the internet. Some people see this as a problem because they deem some information to be dangerous, even to adults. When it comes to internet access provided to the public by a government entity, like the library, restrictions put in place based on the religious opinions and fears of a segment of the community violate the rights of everyone.

In the 1990's, this was a very common occurance. The objections of the religious community against the availability of "offensive" material grew rapidly. It is well documented that the first internet filter software companies were run by religious censors to satisfy the new market. These same companies began to sell their internet filters to public entities. Over the years and through a maze of transitions and aquisitions, these original small software companies were bought up by larger corporations which were less concerned with religious ideals and more concerned about market share and legal liability. For an education in the history of internet filters see Internet Filters and Public Libraries. When corporate standards for decency bacame too lax for Christians, they started new small companies to cater to Christian families but, for the most part could no longer compete for public contracts.

There are 3 filtering methods that block unwanted web content:

content scanning: block web pages if it contains (a set of) "bad" words
artificial intelligence: an improved version of content scanning
blacklist: block sites based on a list of categorised websites

In the case of "blacklists", the program allows for the network administrator (in this case the librarian) to add website URL's to categories that the filtering software will block. It also allows for a URL to be removed from a block category or for new user-defined categories to be created. When you use the computer at the library, your session can be reviewed if you attempt to access a restricted site. Just trying to access Google's image search page will get you this error page instead. You can then suggest to the administrator that a particular URL be unblocked.

According to a report by The Brennan Center for Justice, as late as 2006 terms like "wicca" and "pagan" were triggering blocked access by these programs. In my own experience, I have found atheist websites blocked as well. Here is a list of categories used by one of these software companies that really concerns me:

Alternative Journals
Art and Culture
Chat
Criminal Skills
Cults
Dating
Drugs
Entertainment
Extreme or Obscene
Gambling
Games
General News
Hate Speech
Humor

Investing
Job Search
Lifestyle
Non-Essential
On-Line Sales/Merchandising
Opinion, Politics and Religion
Personal Pages
Self-Help
Sexual Content
Sports
Travel
Usenet News
Worthless

I would not be too surprised to find that some one decided the Pastafarians were a cult or that some more strident atheist site was determined to be hate speech. And who is to decide what is "worthless" or "non-essential"?! You can check a URL for catagorization at one company's website here to begin.

You should get to your local public library occaisionally anyway because it's a very economical way to get educated or just find an enjoyable book for your spare time. You can locate all your local libraries here. While you are there, try a test of the filtering system. Suggest any changes to their filtering that you feel are appropriate. You will be well supported in minimizing censorship by the American Library Association itself so don't feel you would have to go it alone. In the event of any reluctance on the part of your librarian, refer to ALA policy manual including sections 50.3, 50.15, 53.1 and particularly 50.1.17 for clarification.