Internet filtering was covered in the last class which was interesting since it is a form of censorship. The filter is software loaded onto the computer.
It is the controlling or supression of the publishing of information on the internet. From preventing something from being viewed you are censoring it. It does in a way defeat the purpse of a library which is to provide information. Just because someone or company feels that certain information should not be made public does not give them the right to withhold it, but that is exactly what is being done through the use of internet filters. For censorship to happen you must have a body of people who who make decisons about what must be censored. They decide based on a certain criteria why certain information must be censored. Many books were banned in the past, they were burnt, that was a form of censorship, information was not merely withheld it was completely destroyed. Governments often use censorship as a means of covering up actions they know people will not agree with.
Internet filters are also installed in computers to prevent children from viewing inappropriate information. They often find a way to to access the very information they are trying to be protected from. The best way to protect them would therefore be to educate them from that wich they are being prevented from accessing.
You can download free internet filtering software from the following websites
http://www1.k9webprotection.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content-control_software
I agree! The information that we got on internet filtering and censorship was extremely interesting, but the one thing that I found most disturbing was the fact that there is so many ways of getting around internet filtering. No wonder we had incidences in the past where people actually got onto porn sites on our SmartCape computers! That is why we still keep an eye on what the people are doing on the SmartCape computers by walking by and glimpsing at the screens.
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