Fox News and ALA agree! Filtering is bad

  

"Studies and anecdotal evidence provide numerous  examples of blocked online resources dealing with a wide range of topics, from war and genocide to safer sex and public health." Kristen R. Batch “Fencing Out Knowledge: Impacts of the Children’s Internet Protection Act 10 Years Later” American Library Association, June 2014.

"... the Connecticut Republican Party website was blocked. The Connecticut Democratic Party website was not blocked. National Right to Life was blocked, but Planned Parenthood was not blocked. Connecticut Family, a pro-traditional marriage  group, was blocked, but LGBT Nation was not blocked. Andrew found that even Pope Francis was blocked from the school’s web service. But although he could not access the Vatican website, the school allowed him to access an Islamic website." ... "The National Rifle Association, Red State, SarahPac.com, National Right to Life, Second Amendment Foundation, Paul Ryan for Congress, Town Hall, TeaParty.org,  ProtectMarriage.com, and Christianity.com are just some of the websites the school blocked." Todd Starnes,  Jesus, Republicans and NRA banned on school website, Fox News, June 19, 2014.

Hmmm, something (finally) on which both conservatives and liberals can agree: Internet blocking based on political and social bias in a bad thing. At least it's a bad thing when the filter blocks points of view with which one agrees.

Here's the hard truth about intellectual freedom: you have to believe it applies to both the washed and the unwashed. To those whose values and beliefs you share and to those with whom you disagree. You have to actually have faith that when given a choice between your ideas and other's ideas, others will chose yours based on a fair analysis. And that most human beings have the skills to detect bullshit when they see it or read it. 

Scary stuff.

Image source

See also:

• Are You Sure You Want an Internet Filter? Virtual Censorship is Still Censorship TechTrends, May/June 1998
• Best Practices for Meeting CIPA Requirements EdTech Magazine Q4 2005.
• Filtering Fallacies, Power Up column, Educational Leadership, December/January 2013
• Format Bigotry, LMC,  November/December 2009
• Freedom and Filters, LMC, February 2003
• Freedom to Learn (due process and filtering), LMC, January/February 2012
• Guidelines for Educators Using Social and Educational Networking Sites (with Jen Hegna) Library Media Connection, March/April  2010
• The Neglected Side of Intellectual Freedom, LMC, March/April 2013
• Response to “Just Give It to Me Straight: A Case Against Filtering the Internet,” in the May 2004 Phi Delta Kappan by Callister and Burbules. Appeared in Kappan Backtalk section, June 2004