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Filters & Freedom

Includes articles produced by:

- American Civil Liberties Union
- The Censorware Project
- Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
- Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties
- Electronic Frontiers Australia
- Electronic Privacy Information Center
- Global Internet Liberty Campaign
- Internet Free Expression Alliance
- National Coalition Against Censorship
- Peacefire
(Also available, Peacefire T-Shirts listing sites blocked by Censorware including the National Organization for Women, the Vatican, and EPIC.)
Filters and Freedom

ISBN: 1893044068
174 pages, $20.00

Also available:

Privacy Law Sourcebook 2001

Privacy Law Sourcebook 2000

Privacy & Human Rights 2001

Privacy & Human Rights 2000

Cryptography and Liberty 2000

Consumer Law Sourcebook 2000

Filters & Freedom 2.0


Originally proposed as a technological solution that would forestall official censorship, content filtering has been shown to pose its own signicant threats to free expression on the Internet. Often characterized by their proponents as mere features or tools, filtering and rating systems can also be viewed as fundamental architectural changes that may, in fact, facilitate the suppression of speech far more effectively than national laws alone ever could.

Several critiques and studies have been produced since filtering and rating systems were first proposed as voluntary alternatives to government regulation of Internet content. Partly as a result of the writings contained in this collection, the headlong rush toward the development and acceptance of filtering and rating systems has slowed. These critical views must be considered carefully if we are to preserve freedom of expression in the online world.