Filtered Internet Service Provider

[Sheryl Dwinell]

>I've also talked to a couple of filtering vendors who were very optimistic
>about the potential money to be made selling filters to ISPs.  I hear there
>has even been some suggestions of *requiring ISPs by law* to offer filtered
>access as a choice.  They have a point: it really isn't fair to put the
>burden entirely on the parents.

Requiring ISPs to offer filtered acces by law? Can't you just see the
attempts to construct a law like that? Who'd do it, the feds? the states?
Imagine the headaches if you're a national ISP and 10 states have the law.
What if one state's idea of filtering is more restrictive than another
state? How about if one porn site sneaks through and some outraged parent
decides to take the ISP to court. Sounds like a mess to me. Why not rely on
consumer demand. If enough folks want this type of access, and ISP's feel
like it's a good business decision to do so, then they'll do it. 

Why is it not fair to put the burden on the parents. They have the burden
of turning off the TV to keep their kids away from nasty stuff on cable.
Isn't part of being a parent exercising control over how you want your
children to be raised? Yeah, it's a HARD and time consuming job, but that's
part of being a parent. Isn't it?


Sheryl Dwinell * Cataloger/DBM Librarian/Webmaster
Memorial Library * Marquette University
P.O. Box 3141 * Milwaukee, WI 53201-3141
414-288-3406 * dwinells at vms.csd.mu.edu