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Advertisements Books Films (banned|re-edited) Internet Music Anime Video games Bold text Advertising regulation refers to the laws and rules defining the ways in which products can be advertised in a particular region. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Film may refer to: photographic film a motion picture in academics, the study of motion pictures as an art form a thin skin or membrane, or any covering or coating, whether transparent or opaque a thin layer of liquid, either on a solid or liquid surface or free-standing Film... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A re-edited film is a film that has been edited from the original theatrical release. ... Censorship of music, the practice of censoring music from the public, may take the form of partial or total censorship with the latter banning the music entirely. ... When anime, a Japanese cartoon(s), is brought to the United States, it is sometimes edited (in visuals). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
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Self-censorship Book burning Content-control software Corporate censorship Under fascist regimes In religion Historical revisionism Postal censorship Prior restraint Tape delay Whitewashing Self-censorship is the act of censoring and/or classifying ones own book(s), film(s), or other kind of art to avoid offending others without an authority pressuring them to do so. ... Book burning is the practice of ceremoniously destroying by fire one or more copies of a book or other written material. ... Corporate censorship is a term used to denote either censorship through legal challenges, through refusal to sell a product, or refusal to advertise or allow air time. ... Censorship in Italy under Fascism Censorship in Italy was not created with Fascism, nor it ended with it, but it had a relevantly heavy importance in the life of Italians under the Regime. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Historical revisionism is the attempt to change commonly held ideas about the past. ... During times of war post from the front is often opened and offending parts blanked or cut out. ... Prior restraint is a legal term referring to a governments actions that prevent materials from being published. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Broadcast delay. ... Censorship is the systematic use of group power to broadly control freedom of speech and expression, largely in regard to secretive matters. ...

Content-control software, also censorware and web filtering, is a term for content-filtering software, especially when it is used to filter content delivered over the Web. Content-control software determines what content will be available on a particular machine or network; the motive is often to prevent persons from viewing content which the computer's owner(s) or other authorities may consider objectionable. Common use cases of such software, at least in the United States, include parents who wish to limit what sites their children may view from home computers, schools performing the same function with regard to computers found at school, and employers restricting what content may be viewed by employees while on the job. A screenshot of computer software in action. ... WWWs historical logo designed by Robert Cailliau The World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web) is a global, read-write information space. ... In software engineering, a use case is a technique for capturing the potential requirements of a new system or software change. ... TRS-80 Color Computer II The home computer is a consumer-friendly word for the second generation of microcomputers (the technical term that was previously used), entering the market in 1977 and becoming common during the 1980s. ... Students in Rome, Italy. ...

Frequent targets of content-control software include websites which do (or are alleged to do) the following:

• Include content which is illegal in the jurisdiction where the computer lies.
• Promote, enable, or discuss hacking, software piracy, criminal skills, or other acts which are illegal in many jurisdictions.
• Include content which is sexually explicit in nature, including pornography, erotica, and non-erotic discussions of sexual topics such as sexuality or human reproduction.
• Promote, enable, or discuss lifestyles which some might consider immoral, including promiscuity, sexual orientations other than heterosexuality, or other alternative lifestyles or sexual activity outside of marriage.
• Contain violence or other forms of graphic or "extreme" content.
• Promote, enable, or discuss bigotry or hate speech.
• Promote, enable, or discuss gambling, recreational drug use, alcohol, or other activities frequently considered to be vice.
• Are not related to a student's studies, an employee's job function, or other tasks for which the computer in question may be intended.
• Are contrary to the interests of the authority in question, such as websites promoting organized labor or criticizing a particular company or industry.
• Promote or discuss politics, religion, or other topics.
• Social networking websites.

Content-control software can also be used to block Internet access entirely. The Rhodesia Herald of September 21, 1966. ... Look up hacking in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The copyright infringement of software is often called software piracy by those seeking to reduce its incidence. ... Pornography (from Greek πόρνη prostitute and γραφία writing) (more informally referred to as porn or porno) is the representation of the human body or sexual activity with the goal of sexual arousal. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Erotic art. ... This article is about the issues and phenomena pertaining to human sexual function and behavior. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into sex organ. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... LGBT (or GLBT) is an abbreviation used as a collective term to refer to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people. ... An alternative lifestyle is a mode or style of conducting ones life that is considerably removed from the generally perceived norm. ... A marriage is a relationship between or among individuals, usually recognized by civil authority and/or bound by the religious beliefs of the participants. ... Violence refers to acts of aggression and abuse which causes or intends to cause criminal injury or harm to persons, and (to a lesser extent) animals and property. ... A bigot is a prejudiced person who is intolerant of opinions, lifestyles or identities differing from his or her own. ... Hate speech is a controversial term for speech intended to degrade, intimidate, or incite violence or prejudicial action against a group of people based on their race, gender, age, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. ... Slot machines in Las Vegas, Nevada. ... Recreational drug use is the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational purposes rather than for work, medical or spiritual purposes, although the distinction is not always clear. ... In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl group (-OH) is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group. ... Vice is the opposite of virtue. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a group of workers who act collectively to address common issues. ... Politics is a process by which decisions are made within groups. ... A social network is a social structure made of nodes which are generally individuals or organizations. ...

Terminology

This article uses the term "content control," a term also used on occasion by CNN [1], Playboy Magazine [2], the San Francisco Chronicle [3] and the New York Times [4]. However, two other terms, "censorware" and "web filtering," while more controversial, are often used. The Cable News Network, usually referred to as CNN, is a cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. ... Playboy is an adult entertainment magazine, or pornography magazine, founded in 1953 by Hugh Hefner, which has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc. ... The San Francisco Chronicle, the self-described Voice of the West, is Northern Californias largest newspaper. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

In a fashion similar to the term "spyware," "censorware," a portmanteau of censor and software, is a valuative term. Companies who make products that selectively block web sites do not refer to these products as censorware, and prefer terms such as "'Internet filter"; in the specialized case of software explicitly designed for parents to monitor and restrict the access of their children, "parental control software" is also used. Antispyware redirects here. ... Look up Portmanteau word in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Rhodesia Herald of September 21, 1966. ... Computer software (or simply software) refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of a computer for some purpose. ...

Those critical of such software, however, use the term "censorware" freely: consider the Censorware Project, for example. The use of the term "censorware" in editorials criticizing makers of such software is widespread and covers many different varieties and applications: Xeni Jardin used the term in a 9 March 2006 editorial in the New York Times when discussing the use of American-made filtering software to suppress content in China; in the same month a high school student used the term to discuss the deployment of such software in his school district [5]. Xeni Jardin Xeni Jardin (IPA: ) (born August 5, 1972 [1]) is an American weblogger and journalist. ...

Seth Finkelstein, an anti-censorware advocate, described what he saw as a terminology battle, in a hearing at the Library of Congress in 2003: Seth Finkelstein, computer programmer and activist, was one of the founders of the Censorware Project (CWP), and worked to raise public awareness of the dangers he perceived as being posed by popular content blocking software (censorware) to unhampered communication. ... The Great Hall interior. ...

...I think the best public relations that the censorware companies ever did was to get the word "filter" attached to their products. When you think of a spam filter, for example, you think of something that you do not want to see. ... But, again, as I said earlier, censorware is not like a spam filter. What censorware is, is an authority wants to prevent a subject under their control from viewing material that the authority has forbidden to them. This description is general. [6]

In general, outside of editorial pages as described above, traditional newspapers do not use the term "censorware" in their reporting, preferring instead to use terms such as "content filter," "content control," or "web filtering"; the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal both appear to follow this practice. On the other hand, web-based newspapers such as CNET use the term in both editorial and journalistic contexts, e.g., [7]. The Wall Street Journal is an influential international daily newspaper published in New York City, New York with an average daily circulation of 1,800,607 (2002). ... {{Infobox_Company | company_name = CNET Networks| company_logo = | company_type = [[Publicly traded NASDAQ: CNET foundation = 1993| location = San Francisco, California, USA| key_people = Shelby W. Bonnie, Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO| num_employees = 2,080 (2006)| industry = Internet Information Provider| homepage = [1] ==CNET Networks, Inc. ...

Issues

Filters can be implemented in many different ways: by a software program on a personal computer or by servers providing Internet access. Choosing an Internet service provider (ISP) that blocks objectionable material before it enters the home over software run on their own computer can help parents who worry about their children viewing objectionable content. An internet service provider (abbr. ...

Those who believe content-control software is useful may still not agree with certain ways it is used, or with mandatory general regulation of information. For example, many would disapprove of filtering viewpoints on moral or political issues, agreeing that this could become support for propaganda. Many would also find it unacceptable that an ISP, whether by law or by the ISP's own choice, should deploy such software without allowing the users to disable the filtering for their own connections. In addition, some argue that using content-control software may violate sections 13 and 17 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. ^{[citation needed]} U.S. propaganda poster from WWII depicting a Nazi stabbing a Bible. ... The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is an international convention setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children. ...

History

As the World Wide Web rose to prominence, parents, led by a series of stories in the mass media, began to worry that allowing their children to use the Web might expose them to indecent material. The US Congress responded by passing the Communications Decency Act, banning indecency on the Internet. Civil liberties groups challenged the law under the First Amendment and the Supreme Court ruled in their favor. Part of the civil liberties argument, especially from groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, was that parents who wanted to block sites could use their own content-filtering software, making government involvement unnecessary. The Communications Decency Act (CDA) was Title V of the United States Telecommunications Act of 1996. ... The first ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. ... The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the judicial branch of the United States federal government. ... EFF Logo The EFF uses the blue ribbon as symbolism for their Free Speech defense. ...

Critics then argued that while content-filtering software might make government censorship less likely, it would do so only by allowing unaccountable private companies to censor as they pleased. They further argued that government encouragement of content filtering, or legal requirements for content-labeling software, would be equivalent to censorship. Groups such as the Censorware Project began reverse-engineering the content-control software and decrypting the blacklists to determine what kind of sites the software blocked. They discovered that such tools routinely blocked unobjectionable sites while also failing to block intended targets. An example of this tendency was the filtering of all sites containing the word "breast," on the assumption that this word could only be mentioned in a sexual context. This approach had the consequence of blocking sites that discuss breast cancer, women's clothing, and even chicken recipes. Similarly, over-zealous attempts to block the word "sex" would block words such as "Essex" and "Sussex." Content-control software has been cited [8] as one of the reasons Beaver College had to change the name to Arcadia, since content-control software had been blocking access to the college web site. The Rhodesia Herald of September 21, 1966. ... Photograph of a pregnant human females breasts. ... Breast cancer is cancer of breast tissue. ... Essex is a county in the East of England. ... Sussex is a traditional county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. ...

Some content-control software companies responded by claiming that their filtering criteria were backed by intensive manual checking. The companies' opponents argued, on the other hand, that performing the necessary checking would require resources greater than the companies possessed and that therefore their claims were not valid.

Many types of content-control software has been shown to block sites based on the religious and political leanings of the company owners. Examples includes blocking several religious sites [9] [10] (including the web site of the Vatican), many political sites, and sites about gay/lesbians. [11] X-Stop was shown to block sites such as the Quaker web site, the National Journal of Sexual Orientation Law, the Heritage Foundation, and parts of The Ethical Spectacle. [12] CYBERsitter blocks out sites like National Organization for Women. [13] The official logo for Quaker Oats. ... The Heritage Foundation, a think tank located in Washington, D.C., is an influential public policy research institute whose stated mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The site Peacefire.org posted information about some pages that were blocked and it was then added to the blocklist. Solid Oak Software has vowed that Peacefire's reports about CYBERsitter "will be blocked wherever they may be." ^{[citation needed]}

Use in public libraries

Content-control software such as SonicWALL is used in many public libraries in the United States to block content classed as objectionable because of pornography or advocacy of violence. Some libraries that employ content-control software allow the software to be deactivated on a case-by-case basis on application to a librarian. SonicWALL is a company which provides software and hardware for internet security, including such things as the SonicWALL firewall software and content filtering service. ...

Many legal scholars believe that a number of legal cases [14], in particular Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union [15], established that the use of content-control software in libraries is a violation of the First Amendment. The Children's Internet Protection Act [CIPA] and the June 2003 case US v. ALA found CIPA not unconstitutional on its face, but left open a future "as-applied" Constitutional challenge. However, the American Library Association maintains its stance that "ALA policy is unchanged: ALA does not recommend the use in libraries of filtering technology that blocks constitutionally protected information." [16] In Reno v. ... The Childrens Internet Protection Act, also known as CIPA, is one of a number of bills that the United States Congress has proposed in an attempt to limit childrens exposure to pornography and other controversial material online. ... The American Library Association (ALA) promotes libraries and library education in the United States and internationally. ...

Australia's Internet Safety Advisory Body has information about "practical advice on Internet safety, parental control and filters for the protection of children, students and families" that also includes public libraries. See NetAlert Limited.

Denmark will "prevent inappropriate Internet sites from being accessed from children's libraries across Denmark."[17] "'It is important that every library in the country has the opportunity to protect children against pornographic material when they are using library computers. It is a main priority for me as Culture Minister to make sure children can surf the net safely at libraries,' states Brian Mikkelsen in a press-release of the Danish Ministry of Culture."[18]

Bypassing filters

Some software may be bypassed successfully by using alternative protocols such as FTP, conducting searches in a different language, or using a proxy server. FTP or file transfer protocol is a commonly used protocol for exchanging files over any network that supports the TCP/IP protocol (such as the Internet or an intranet). ... A proxy server is a computer that offers a computer network service to allow clients to make indirect network connections to other network services. ...

Some of the more poorly-designed filters can be shut down by killing their processes; for example, in Microsoft Windows through the Windows Task Manager, or in Mac OS X using Activity Monitor. Microsoft Windows is a family of operating systems by Microsoft for use on personal computers, although versions of Windows designed for servers, embedded devices, and other platforms also exist. ... Task manager on Windows XP A task manager is a program used to provide information about the processes and programs running on a computer, as well as the general status of the computer. ... Mac OS X (officially pronounced Mac OS Ten) is a line of proprietary, graphical operating systems developed, sold, and marketed by Apple Computer, the latest of which is included with all currently-shipping Apple Macintosh computers. ... Activity Monitor is the name of a utility for performing different tasks to a computer process in the Mac OS X operating system. ...

Another option for bypassing blocking software locally can be achieved by using a Linux Live CD, such as the Ubuntu Live CD, which will run an entire operating system "on-the-fly" using the RAM memory as the only medium, having the advantage of not leaving any traces of the visited sites and leaving the hard disk unmodified once the Live CD is removed. For detailed instructions, see: Using Ubuntu Live CD to bypass blocking software. Linux (also known as GNU/Linux) is a Unix-like computer operating system. ... Gnoppix 0. ... Ubuntu, pronounced (oo-BOON-too), is a predominantly desktop-oriented Linux distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux, often compared to Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X in terms of usability, support and ease of use. ...

Note that just as these bypass options are available, so are options to stop the bypasses. The Live CD only works if the CD/DVD-drive is available as a bootable device, bootable USB keys only work if USB booting is enabled, and using floppies to kickstart the boot process only works if the booting off floppies is enabled. A workstation can be secured against all these by selecting the hard drive as the first and only bootable device. Further security involves applying a random BIOS password unique to each computer, and finally padlocking the case shut to prevent access to the inside of the computer.

A nearly fail-safe method is to use windows XP Professional's Remote Desktop. Using Remote desktop will bypass the most restrictive filters, because the filters cannot censor any URL's or keywords. It works by connecting to a computer with uncensored internet access. If the Remote Desktop shortcut is disabled in the start menu, you can setup remote desktop to be used inside of a browser window.

Keyloggers can be surpassed by using an On-Screen Keyboard to type sensitive information. You can also disable them through Windows Task Manager,and by using Safe Mode.

Content-control software products

As described above, many content-control software products as well as the concept of content-control software in general, especially in government-funded services or those not age-restricted, can be controversial. Many ISPs offer parental control options, among them Earthlink, Yahoo!, and AOL; and more general software such as Norton Internet Security includes "parental controls." Mac OS v10.4+ offers parental controls for several applications (Mail, Finder, iChat, Safari & Dictionary). The upcoming Windows Vista operating system may also include "parental controls." See the Censorware category for a number of articles on content-control software products. Parental controls are options, typically included in digital television services, violent computer and video games, or computer software used to access the Internet, that allows a parent to limit what a child can see or do. ... EarthLink NASDAQ: ELNK, is an Internet service provider headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. ... Yahoo! Inc. ... AOL LLC (formerly America Online, Inc) is an American-based online service provider, bulletin board system, and media company operated by Time Warner. ... Norton Internet Security 2005 without AntiSpyware. ... Mac OS X version 10. ... Mail (aka Mail. ... The Finder is the default application program used on the Mac OS and Mac OS X operating systems that is responsible for the overall user-management of files, disks, network volumes and the launching of other applications. ... iChat is an AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), ICQ and Jabber client for Mac OS X. Using a Jabber-like protocol and Bonjour for user discovery, it also allows for LAN communication. ... Safari is a web browser developed by Apple Computer, Inc. ... Dictionary is an application introduced with Mac OS X v10. ... Windows Vista is the name of a major version of Microsoft Windows, a proprietary graphical operating system used on personal computers, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. ...

See also

• Internet censorship
• Internet pornography
• Censorship
• Image retrieval
• Geolocation
• Geolocation software
• Computer surveillance
• Parental controls

Censorship in cyberspace is often treated as a separate issue from censorship of offline material, but the legal issues are similar. ... Internet pornography is pornography that is distributed via the Internet, primarily via websites, peer-to-peer file sharing, or Usenet newsgroups. ... The Rhodesia Herald of September 21, 1966. ... An image retrieval system is a computer system for browsing, searching and retrieving images from a large database of digital images. ... Geolocation is the science of determining the real-world geographic location of a website visitor by tracking his Internet Protocol address and other factors. ... In computing, geolocation software is used to deduce the geographic location of the other party in a message exchange, for example on the Internet. ... Computer surveillance is the act of surveiling peoples computer activity without their knowledge, by accessing the computer itself. ... Parental controls are options, typically included in digital television services, violent computer and video games, or computer software used to access the Internet, that allows a parent to limit what a child can see or do. ...

External links

• PEACEFIRE: Open Access for the Net Generation. How to disable Internet blocking software.
• http://censorware.net Censorware Project: Exposing the secrets of censorware since 1997
• Seth Finkelstein's Anticensorware Investigation
• Protecting Judges against Liza Minelli

Opinions for and against content-control software

• DMoz category: Pro-censorware opinions
• DMoz category: Anti-censorware opinions