Pennsylvania forces ISPs to block access to porn Web sites
 

Pennsylvania forces ISPs to block access to porn Web sites
By Ted Bridis

Feb. 19, 2003 | WASHINGTON (AP) --

Pennsylvania is forcing Internet providers to block Web sites that include child pornography, a new legal strategy that technology and civil liberties experts worry will unintentionally interfere with legitimate surfing.

In a precursor to a possible courtroom challenge, lawyers from the Center for Democracy and Technology will try to compel Pennsylvania's attorney general to disclose new details about the state's tactics. They are worried other states may follow Pennsylvania's practice.

The center, which focuses on Internet freedoms, compared the blocking technique to disrupting mail delivery to an entire apartment complex because of one tenant's illegal actions. It said it prefers aggressive prosecution of those who publish obscene materials to wholesale blocking of Web destinations.

"It's sort of this weird world where we're not prosecuting the people producing child pornography," said Alan Davidson, the center's associate director.

http://www.salon.com/tech/wire/2003/...ernet_filters/

Laws like this are fucking scary. They are apparently blocking legal sites along with the illegal ones.

Keyword

'child pornography'

good for them.

Bullshit. Read the article. They are blocking legal sites as well.

WorldCom's lawyers, while saying they abhor child pornography, had objected that filters placed on behalf of Pennsylvania citizens would affect all their subscribers in North America from visiting thousands of Web sites "completely unrelated in content and ownership" to the pornographic material.

I hate when people put misleading thread titles.

hmm here's a thought.. why not go after the BILLERS and HOSTS that keep these websites online.

It's the exact title of the article from the Associated Press.

It's also a fact that they are blocking sites other than just child porn.

But don't let facts get in the way.

They can't just block "child pornography". Software to block that will, in order to be effective, have to block a lot more - our sites.

So, the thread title was not misleading.

Uh, yes misleading...

"Pennsylvania forces ISPs to block access to porn Web sites"

Okay. I didn't realize the article was titled that.

I now think the article title and this message thread title are misleading.

They are not blocking access to porn sites. They are blocking access to child porn sites. Undoubtedly, some legal porn sites will be blocked, but they are not blocking access to porn sites in general.

Both titles make it seem as if PA outlawed viewing pornography in general.

God damnit! Why do I have to agree with Mr. Fiction?!

This is pretty much the same as adding filtering software to high school computers, except on a larger scale. The good stuff will have access denied, while bad stuff still gets through.

Chase the offenders, not the medium they use to offend.

Now I have to change my opinion just so we can disagree. :)

Hey guys, guess what!? The Governor of Pennsylvania is NOT a Republican! Here's a link to more information about him: http://www.nga.org/governors/1,1169,C_GOVERNOR_INFO^D_410,00.html

Just thought I would share before someone started yelling Big Brother. :winkwink:

no kidding, only one of the best mayor's Philly ever had...well atleast better than Goode.