Filtering, CIPA, & Sanity - NSBA Nov. 6-10 2001

by Art Wolinsky

Introduction · rubric · conclusion · teacher's guide

Internet Safety History · CIPA Information/Resources · Pro Filtering/CIPA Sites · Anti Filtering/CIPA Sites · Online Safety · The Short List

Introduction

Well, the TV news has switched from All Condit All the Time to All Anthrax All the Time and the Education Legislation news has switched from All COPPA All the Time to ALL CIPA All the Time.

Neither Gary Condit nor COPPA have disappeared, but they certainly are off the radar scope for the time being. CIPA, the Childrens Internet Protection Act, is at the center of the scope right now.

With compliance tied to E-Rate funding, CIPA has schools scrambling to cross their T's and dot their i's, but an unnecessary rush to comply can result in costly decisions in terms of capital outlay and productivity.

People are asking important questions and want to know what things need to be changed or implemented becasue of the legislation.

What is the impact on the curriculum? What is the total cost of ownership? What are the timelines? What's the best solution for our district? What is the best plan of action to follow? How do we educate our staff and students? These are just a few of the questions that need to be answered before putting a program into place.

I would venture to say that many people in this room would embrace the goal of preparing their distric for compliance with CIPA in a manner that is cost effective, enhances the curriculum, and causes minimal distruption.

While neither this hotlist or what we do in the next three hours in going to accomplish that goal before the reception tonight, I hope the resources here provide you with some tools or ammunitions (depending on the nature of your job).


Internet Links

Internet Safety History

COPA Commission Final Report 10/20/00 - Executive Summary

Feb. 1, 1996 - CDA passed as part of telcomm reform.

June 26, 1997 - CDA ruled unconstitutional

October 1998 - COPA passed and COPA Commission formed
The provisions of the law is immediately challenged and enjoined, but the commission begins. The law is struck down in federal court. Appeals courts uphold rulings.

April 20, 1999 - COPPA passed
FTC's Kidz Privacy Page - News Releases

October 20, 2000 - Final Report of the COPA Commission
Though the filtering provisions of COPA were ruled unconsitituional, the commission mandated by the legislation continued to function. The chart in the summary is interesting.

April 20, 2001 CIPA passed
April FCC Report on CIPA Implemention. Great format to be read by an insomniac or a literary masochist. The Word version is a little better

Oct. 20, 2001 Web giants support content ratings
Though not legislation, this represents the first time major support has been put behind rating systems.

CIPA Information/Resources

Get Net Wise
Searchable database of filtering and monitoring solutions. Long list of major corporate and non-profit partners. If you want to visit the web site of a particular company, do it by using the links in the database information.

Canary - Free Activity Monitoring Software
The program was written primarily for the school environment where teachers need to keep an eye on what sites their students are accessing without their knowledge.

CIPA Legislation from Thomas (US Congerss)
Links to the full text legislation in various formats

CoSN Checklist for managing content decisions

Safeguarding the Wired School House

Developing AUPs
an NEA Publication

CIPA FAQs from CoSN in PDF format
Same document in Word format.

Overview of Children's Online Safety Issues
This is a good reference point for beginning any policy development.

CIPA Survival Guide - eSchool News
Also, do a search at the site for CIPA to get a good collection of other articles. Then do a search for filtering and get a HUGE collection of articles.

Pro Filtering/CIPA Sites

Internet Content Rating Association
Evolved from RSACi

Safe Surf
Billed as the original rating system

Sniffing for Data
A view of packet sniffing as a system administrator's security tool and a hacker tool. It is what evolved into current user activity monitoring software

Spy Patrol Monitoring Software
Commercial - Client based

Vericept
Formerly eSniff, this is server based packet sniffing that was designed for business and has made major inroads to a previously non-existant school market thanks to CIPA.

SurfControl Scout
SurfControl's entry into the packet sniffing arena

A small-time detective - ZDNet Review
There are dozens of client based activity monitors. This review of Cyber Snoop Pro software gives you a picture of what it does and some of the drawbacks of client based sniffing software.

Enough is Enough
Another child safety site with a conservative agenda. Board of Directors page makes and interesting comparison to its counterpart page on GetNewWise.

Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS)
This is a standard, not to be confused with a a rating system.

Background paper to show that library filtering is constitutional
Center for the Community Interest is a pro-filtering organization. Other items from the same site are: Thinking Clearly About Libraries and the Internet and CIPA Debate Gathers Momentum

Anti Filtering/CIPA Sites

Electronic Frontier Foundation

ACLU Cyberliberties Page
Many article and updates to legal challenges

PeaceFire
The loudest voice in the Censorware Wars. Bennett Haselton and company were the first to blow the whistle on filtering companies blocking based upon political, social, and business agendas.

Seth Finkelstein's Home Site
One of the Censorware Project founders, but no longer associated with them.

The Censorware Project
Maintained by Seth Finkelstein

ALA’s CIPA Web Site

Online Policy Group
The Online Policy Group is a nonprofit organization dedicated to online policy research, outreach, and action on issues such as access, privacy, and digital defamation. Opposition coverage of CIPA from March 1999

FilterGate - Some problems with filtering software

FilterGate Follow Up
OII web account that fills in and picks up where the Multimedia School Magazine article ends.

NCAC - Internet Filters: A Public Policy Report
A compilation of more than 70 filtering studies.

Online Safety

Cyberangels
The world's largest internet safety organization

Parents' Guide to the Internet
US DOE site. As of 10/27/01 you can still read the message from President B......ill Clinton???

SafeKids.com
One of the pioneering child safety sites on the web.

The Short List

Don't know where to start? Start below.
The short list was created from the resources above. Use them as a quick start resources.

eSchool News
Do a search for CIPA and then do a search for filters. You will get a tremendous number of helpful articles.

Get Net Wise
Use this as a gateway to begin to investigate any filter you want. Then find someone who people who use the same filter and see how they like it.

Developing AUPs from NEA

Anti Filtering/CIPA Information - ALA

Pro Filtering/CIPA Information - Enough is Enough

Online Safety Information - Cyberangels

Childrenss Internet Protection Act Planning Guide for Schools
This is a just released manual from Nancy Willard.

Anti Filtering/CIPA - NCAC Report
A compilation of more than 70 filtering studies.


Conclusion

By the time you get to explore the links in this hotlist, you should begin forming answers to some of the questions I mentioned at the top and that you formulated as you examined the various sites.

You may have noticed that one topic is missing here, nanely Information Literacy. Information Literacy is the strategy many schools would have elected as the means of keeping students safe online filtering had not been mandated under CIPA. Regardless, Information Literacy should still be an integral part of any program. So in your spare time you can visit my short list of Information Literacy, or my full list of around 300 resources.

Note:

The inclusion of any of products in this document in no way serves as an endorsement of that product. Some of the information contained in web sites listed here is biased.

Since Information Literacy is one of the critical skills we need to impart to our students I urge the reader to read critically (except for spelling and grammar on this hotlist).



Web and Flow, by ozline.com created by Art Wolinsky
email: awolinsky@oii.org
http://www.web-and-flow.com/members/awolinsk/filtering/hotlist.htm