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Filtering - Is This The Answer?

Sarah Ormes

UKOLN

University of Bath

Bath, BA2 7AY

UKOLN is funded by the Library and Information Commission, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the Higher Education Funding Councils, as well as by project funding from the JISC and the European Union. UKOLN also receives support from the University of Bath where it is based.

Emails.l.ormes@ukoln.ac.ukURLhttp://www.ukoln.ac.uk/

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Today we will cover …What are filters, how do they work,

how well do they work?

Pros and Cons of Using a Filter

Things to think about if you do

Things to think about if you don’t

Acceptable Use Policies

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What’s the Question?

All libraries providing access to the Internet need to address the following issues:

• Some users will deliberately access and view pornography

• Children could gain access to ‘offensive sites’

• The library could by default provide access to illegal material

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What is Filtering?

• Software which is used to control access to material on the Internet

• Typically used to prevent access to pornography and other potentially offensive material

• Used in many organisations including public libraries and schools

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How Does it Work?

• Four main methods used:• Keyword blocking• Site blocking• Web rating systems• Walled Garden approach

• Combinations of the above

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Keyword Blocking

• Uses a list of ‘objectional terms’• Blocks any or part of pages/e-mails containing these words

• Can be inaccurate e.g. Essex, Dick Whittington, Penistone could be blocked

• Generally viewed as the least sophisticated method

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Site Blocking (1)

• Software company maintains a list of ‘dubious Internet sites’

• The software prevents access to any sites on this list

• ‘Denial lists’ regularly updated• Some software provides control over what categories of information you block

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Site Blocking (2)

• Who decides what goes on the ‘denial list’ and what criteria are they using?

• Can you keep track of the whole Internet?• Filters can use both site blocking and word blocking.

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Web Rating Systems (1)

Web sites rated in terms of nudity, sex, violence and language

RSACI Nudity Categories

Level 4: Provocative Frontal NudityLevel 3: Frontal NudityLevel 2: Partial NudityLevel 1: Revealing AttireLevel 0: None of the Above

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Web Rating Systems (2)

• Ratings either done by web page author or by independent bureau

• Browsers set to only accept pages with certain levels of ratings

• Very low take up so far• Who decides the ratings?

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Walled Garden Approach

• Only provide access to a set of approved links

• Analogous to book selection• Time consuming and hard work• Means users will only have access to a tiny percentage of Internet resources

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How well do they work?

The Internet Filter Assessment Project

•Over 35% of the time, the filters blocked some information needed to answer a question

•Eight percent of what filters accessed they determined was ‘objectionable’

The Internet Filter Assessment Projecthttp://www.bluehighways.com/tifap/

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Stories From the Web

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Stories from the Web through a filter

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Searching for ‘SXXXXhorpe’

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Slipping through the Net (1)

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Slipping through the Net (2)

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www.whitehouse.com

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At the Moment…

• Filters do not work perfectly - they block valid resources and they don’t block some objectionable resource

• Filters do block a lot of objectionable material

• Filters are the only product available at the moment

• Is it a matter of what your acceptable level of failure is?

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Pros • Deselecting poor quality resources

• haven’t libraries always done this? • Children and pornography

• making the library as safe an environment as possible

• Legal issues• protecting the library from legal challenges

• Being seen to be doing something• public knows the library is trying to provide a

safe environment

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Cons• Freedom of access to information

• The library starts censoring

• Who decides what is filtered?• How sophisticated are the selections?

• The library as the information ‘safety net’• The only access point to the Internet for

some users

• Legal issues• Can you provide a safe environment with

filters?

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Providing an appropriate Internet environment

• A filter is not THE solution

• It is one step of managing access

• It is not an easy option

• Incorporate filtering into an

implementable policy

Choosing a Filter Presentation http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/public/present/nag/

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The Perfect Filter!

• Blocking can be en/disabled• Access to list of blocked words and sites

• Add/remove words and sites from lists

• Blocking based on PICS

• Blocking by time, location, status of user

• Methods of alerting users these products are in use

• Understandable ‘blocked’ message.

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Managing Access without a Filter

• Offer training classes for parents and children

• Privacy screens?• Can children surf alone? Do they need their parent’s permission?

• Provide useful collections of links• Publicise your rules

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Draw up an Acceptable Use Policy

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Essential PolicyComponents (1)

• Why does the library provide Internet access (relate to other library policies)?

• What type of material can be accessed on the Internet? (warning)

• What responsibility does the library have for material accessed and how this material is used?

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• Who will be able to use the library’s Internet workstations?

• What type of resources can/can’t users access?

• How do you expect your users to act?

Essential PolicyComponents (2)

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• What will happen if they break these rules?

• What are the rules about children?• Do they need parental permission?

Essential PolicyComponents (3)

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• Filtering• Does the library filter?• Why did it decide to filter?• How was the filtering tool chosen?• What does it do?

Essential PolicyComponents (4)

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Access, Security and Control• Access

• What kind of access do you want to provide and why?

• Security• Do filters answer your security

problems?• Control

• Is your library in control?

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Further Information

• An Introduction to Filtering - available at •http://www.earl.org.uk/taskgroups/policy/issue_papers/nocolumns.htm

• Schneider, K. (1997) A Practical Guide to Internet Filters. Neal Schuman: New York.

• Other links and this presentation at http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/public/present/london/