Last Updated on: 8th April 2015, 10:12 am
It shouldn’t because most politicians are fools when it comes to technology, but it amazes me that it’s 2009 and people are stilllobbying to force useless internet filtering software on schools and libraries.
Trying to stop perverts from accessing porn in public libraries is certainly a noble ambition, but censorship of the internet using programs that have been proven time and time again not to work isn’t the way to go about it.
What all of the proponents of these programs either don’t realize or don’t want to acknowledge is that not only do they try and often fail to block pornography and other questionable material, but they also routinely block legitimate things. A student trying to do actual research on anything remotely sexual is treated by the filter in exactly the same way as the creepy sex molester sitting next to him clicking away on bigjugs.com. All the programs can do is block things based on lists of website addresses and words picked out of somebody’s ass that might in some context or other be bad.
If you need an example, find yourself a filtered computer and start looking up info onthe Horniman Museum.I’ll see you in 30 seconds because you probably won’t be able to do it. Wait, maybe I won’t see you in 30 seconds since you could be getting a stern talking to from security right about now for using a public computer to look up sites about horny men, you horny man you.
This latest bill needs to die a swift death, as does the web filtering industry itself. If you can’t do a job right, it should be a crime to advertise that you can.