Filtering out Minorities

Abstract

The issue of censorship, or filtering, on the Internet is under particular scrutiny in Europe, as illustrated by the Council of Europe’s publishing of the report Freedom of expression and the communication networks , prior to its discussion in November 1998 as one of the four ‘core issues’ at their international conference: ‘Libraries and Democracy’, in Strasbourg. Discusses the issues involved in Internet filtering and, while accepting that children should be protected from the grossly offensive and occasionally illegal materials on the Internet and World Wide Web (WWW), confesses a lack of certainty as to how this should be best achieved. Currently available filtering software and services are notoriously clumsy, sometimes blocking perfectly respectable sites and curtailing whole areas of legitimate enquiry for young people through the use of terms which might have sexual connotations. Acknowledges that the issue of filtering is more problematical in universities as its role does not include shielding students from the more unpleasant features of life. Concludes that the most difficult issue with respect to Web filtering is with regard to its use in public libraries, which caters for both adult and child users. Points to the strength of the Web in catering for ‘community information’, particularly for minorities, but acknowledges that the nature of certain minorities, such as the transgendered, could be regarded by some as making them candidates for filtering. The enforced extension of filtering software in public libraries could undermine its important role in catering for minorities and heighten the sense of isolation from which many such people now suffer.