| Chapter 2: | Framing the question: A review of the relevant literature |
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The vast majority of content is blocked because it is sexually explicit, though chat rooms, e-mail and software downloads are also formats that are commonly blocked. Ayre (2004) provides a comprehensive study of the current status of filtering technology. Filters use several methods for blocking data: word blocking, which matches Web pages against a list of keywords, and site blocking, which matches URLs against a list of predetermined sites (Rosenberg, 2001). Web sites are put into categories by filtering companies and it is these categories that may be adjusted by the local filter administrator. However, most filtering companies are reluctant to list specific Web sites by category, claiming that is proprietary information. This makes it difficult to move a specific site from a misplaced category to a more suitable category. To some extent, what is blocked is a reflection of the intended market for the filtering product.
The U.S. Congress has appointed two separate commissions to study the use of filtering technology to protect children from materials inappropriate to minors. On October 20, 2000, the Commission on Online Child Protection presented its final report (COPA, 2000) to Congress. The report stated that the best Internet filtering technologies can be highly effective in directly blocking access to content that is harmful to minors, but noted that there are significant concerns about First Amendment issues when filters are used in libraries and schools. The second commission to study the use of Internet filtering technology was the “Committee to Study Tools and Strategies for Protecting Kids from Pornography and Their Applicability to Other Inappropriate Internet Content” of the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Research Council. This landmark study (Thornburgh, 2002) considers all sides of this complex issue. One of the study’s findings is that, due to the nature of filters, “underblocking” and “overblocking”2 errors are inevitable.
2 Overblocking occurs when an appropriate site is mistakenly deemed inappropriate and blocked from the user. Underblocking occurs when an inappropriate site is mistakenly deemed appropriate and is permitted to the user.