filtering content isn’t just about censorship or liability. many “questionable” sites in general and porn sites in particular are common attack vectors for malware. as a former network administrator i can’t tell you how many hours of my life were wasted performing malware cleanups, and how many more i saved after i installed sonicwall’s CFS (and their gateway antivirus product as well).

every time i see an article about this, i think two things: 1) whoever’s bitching has never had to deal with all the repercussions of unfettered internet access, especially in a public environment; and 2) every content filter system in the world is imperfect — just like all technology. sonicwall has come a LONG way with theirs — in two years at my present company as a sales engineer, our sonicwall has never once blocked access to something i needed. websense and N2H2 are also very good these days, but mistakes will happen.

as a social libertarian i despise filtering on principle, but principle doesn’t pay the bills and as a network geek i am profoundly thankful that such tools exist.

Filtering to remove content is censorship. I know a lot of folks think censorship is only something the government can do, but it’s not.

In any case I’m not supporting or opposing any specific “web filtering”. I’m merely pointing out why in public places like Airports and Hotels, the legal teams may decide it is better to err on the side of reductive content to avoid the lawsuits that would arise from angry parents wanting things to always be “family friendly”.

I realize this often leads to ridiculous and often contradictory controls. I’ve seen parents rail against language on the web, while calling their children the worst of names. I’ve seen folks insist we speak a certain way in chat and watched them violate their own rules.

So I hope this explains I’m not supporting the decisions (nor opposing them, as folks have a right to block on their networks, blogs, business sites, etc what they will). Just suggesting why it is so.

That being said, filters are annoying. Renting a server and using it as a proxy is the way to go for unfiltered access…

Censorship while distasteful for some, is a needed reality in the diverse world in which we live.