School Internet Filters Give False Sense Of Security

Say That Again

from the more-evidence dept

As if there weren’t enough reasons why putting internet filters in schools was a bad idea here’s another one. While pointing out the problems of both false negatives (letting through content that is supposed to be blocked) and false positives (blocking content that should be allowed), internet filters create a false sense of security. Parents and teachers assume that if they have a filter in place, then everything is good. They don’t teach the kids how to deal with real world issues – but the kids still come across plenty of content they may not be prepared to see. For all the talk about how families are supposed to be playing a bigger role in raising their children, isn’t it a bit odd that we’re then forcing schools and libraries to give up that ability to a software program?