The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Rhode Island has praised the General Assembly for introducing more transparent standards for the use of Internet filters in schools in the state.
Since the passing of the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), K-12 schools and libraries that apply for E-Rate discounts have been required to implement a web filter to restrict access to inappropriate or harmful website content. The web filter must be configured to block obscene images, child pornography, and other content that could be considered harmful to minors.
Overzealous Use of School Internet Filters in Rhode Island
While schools in Rhode Island have complied with CIPA, many have gone further and have used Internet content filtering software to block far more website content than CIPA requires. Blocking potentially harmful website content protects children from harm; however, schools must take care not to overblock website content.
There is a clear difference between pornographic content which contains images of naked individuals and artwork which depicts nudes for example. The former has potential to cause harm to minors, the latter has educational value and should not be blocked. If there are no standards for the use of Internet filters in schools, it is all too easy for valuable educational material to be inadvertently blocked.
Three years ago UCLA published a report on how overblocking of website content can harm public education. The report details some of the difficulties staff and students have had accessing valuable website content after web filtering solutions have been implemented in educational establishments in Rhode Island.
Internet filters allow website content to be blocked based on categories. Schools may, for instance, choose to block content relating to alcohol. However, the report says some students had tried searching for polyvinyl alcohol – information on which was required for their studies, yet the content was not accessible because the Internet filtering category “alcohol” had been blocked.
Students who want to access LGBT information or individuals wishing to find out about sexually transmitted diseases should be able to access that information, yet this type of website content can all too easily be blocked if Internet filters are not carefully applied. The ACLU believes that transparent standards for the use of Internet filters in schools are necessary. Schools should be open about the type of content that they block and the reasons for doing so. With greater transparency students can be protected from harm, yet have access to valuable educational material.
New Standards for the Use of Internet Filters in Schools in Rhode Island
Rep. Art Handy and Sen. Adam Satchell sponsored the new bills (H-7583-A and S-2172-A) which require written policies to be implemented which explain the categories of website content which are blocked by the state Department of Education and school districts. The new legislation also requires reasons to be provided for blocking specific categories of website content. Policies must also be reviewed on an annual basis.
Hillary Davis, policy associate of ACLA of Rhode Island, praised the introduction of new standards for the use of Internet filters in schools by the General Assembly. She said, “The Internet offers a world of educational opportunities that Rhode Island’s students have been denied because of overzealous filtering software.” Davis went on to say, “This new law will go a long way toward ensuring teachers can bring their full range of resources to the classroom, and that students can complete their studies without interruption or frustration.”
WebTitan – Web Filtering for the Education Sector
The TitanHQ team has worked on email anti-spam solutions for schools, web filtering for education, and email archiving for schools for over 20 years. We have a deep understanding of the web security issues that all schools and colleges face when protecting students, staff members, and visitors.
WebTitan is a powerful web security solution that ensures safe Internet browsing for children. The solution provides protection from harmful and obscene web content whether students are studying in the classroom, school library, or offsite and blocks threats such as malware, ransomware, and phishing. WebTitan Web security is available for all devices, including Chromebooks, Windows, and Apple devices, and the solution is quick and easy to implement and maintain.
Benefits of WebTitan
- Create a safe and secure web browsing environment.
- Comply with CIPA and qualify for E-Rate discounts
- Block malicious websites and malware downloads.
- Block material contained in the child abuse image content URL list (CAIC List) and other third-party blacklists.
- Accurately filter web content through 53 pre-set categories and up to 10 custom categories.
- Filter by keyword and keyword score.
- Inspect encrypted websites.
- Filter content in 200 languages.
- Apply time-based filtering controls.
- Filter the Internet across multiple WiFi hotspots.
- Protect students when learning remotely.
- Manage access points through a single web-based administration panel.
- Delegate management of access points.
- Schedule and run reports on demand with real time-views of Internet activity and extensive drill down reporting.
- Integrate the solution into existing security and monitoring systems.
Test WebTitan with a 14-Day Free Trial
WebTitan is currently protecting 10 million students and 2.5 billion DNS requests a day with T-Mobile. With WebTitan, you can quickly and easily protect your students from inappropriate web content, ensure CIPA compliance and create a safe environment for children.
You can also take advantage of a Free Trial of the solution to see for yourself how easy it is to use and maintain, and how effective it is at blocking access to content you do not want to be accessed by students, on or off the network.