ACLU Demands That Schools Stop Unconstitutional Web Filtering Of LGBT Content

Dan82 · Mar 29, 2011

http://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/acl...p-unconstitutional-web-filtering-lgbt-content

Students Across The Country Report Censorship Of Educational Web Content As Part Of Organization’s “Don’t Filter Me” Project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; [email protected]

NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Michigan and the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri sent letters to public high schools today demanding that the schools stop viewpoint-based censorship of web content geared toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities. The ACLU was notified that the schools were censoring material after teaming with Yale Law School to launch the “Don’t Filter Me” campaign, which asked students to check to see if their school was blocking content.

“We’re pleased that students around the country are responding to the initiative by asserting their rights and letting their schools know that censorship is unacceptable,” said Joshua Block, staff attorney with the ACLU LGBT Project. “Blocking these sites not only discriminates against LGBT viewpoints, but can deny LGBT students in crisis a much-needed lifeline for support.”

Programs that block all LGBT content violate First Amendment rights to free speech, as well as the Equal Access Act, which requires equal access to school resources for all extracurricular clubs. This means that gay-straight alliances and LGBT support groups must have the same access to national organizational websites as other groups such as the Key Club and the chess club. Some schools have also improperly configured their web filters to block news items pertaining to LGBT issues and deny access to support groups that could be vital for troubled LGBT youth who either don’t have access to the Internet at home, or do not feel safe accessing such information on their home computers.

Students who have responded to the “Don’t Filter Me” campaign include Nick Rinehart of Rochester High School in Rochester Hills, MI and Molly Mendenhall, of Oak Park High School in Kansas City, MO. The ACLU is also sending requests for information about web filtering programs to school districts in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin, and Washington.

“I couldn’t believe my school would block access to perfectly legitimate websites just because they were about LGBT issues,” said Rinehart, who was blocked from looking up information on gay-straight alliances with a message that said his search violated Rochester High School’s “acceptable use” policy. “It’s not fair for the school to try to keep students in the dark about LGBT resources.”

“This is legitimate information that we need to know about,” said Mendenhall. “We need access to these sites to run our school clubs, to support each other and to understand current events. Schools shouldn’t be putting limits on our education.”

Some schools have improperly configured their web filters to block access to websites for LGBT rights organizations such as the Gay-Straight Alliance Network, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, and websites pertaining to the National Day of Silence to protest anti-LGBT bullying. However, the filters sometimes allow access to sites that condemn homosexuality or urge LGBT people to try to change their sexual orientation, such as People Can Change.

The ACLU has given the schools until April 4 to respond.

A video showing students how to test whether or not their school is illegally filtering content, and provides instructions for reporting censorship can be seen here: www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/dont-filter-me

Students who want to report unconstitutional web filtering at their schools can fill out a form at: action.aclu.org/dontfilterme

More information on the ACLU’s work on LGBT school issues can be found here: www.aclu.org/safeschools
Click to expand...

British Lad · Mar 30, 2011

That needs to happen in the UK as my college block and LGBT sites.

Dave · Mar 30, 2011

Yeah at the moment Locally we're having trouble with the local TAFE college, that is blocking gay content under a LGBT category, this came in just in time!

kwyjibo · Mar 31, 2011

I wonder why the filters are in place. I see a few possibilities:
1. Homophobic IT Managers
2. IT managers who block anything related to sex, and the filters pick up LGBT stuff because it may be perceived as about sex - this seems most likely.
3. Blocks like this preset into filtering devices.

Dave · Apr 1, 2011

We have a LGBT blocking category at the local Tafe, that's why we're kicking up a fuss, it's deliberate

Holliepop · Apr 1, 2011

My school has something like this, but a lot more reasonable.

They have key words, which, if spark up on the page, it becomes filtered. I know there are a few LGBT related things filtered at my school, but only because they've had these key words e.g sex, penis etc etc. But I know words like 'gay' or 'LGBT' aren't filtered because there are other websites which are accessible, even though they have those words there.

So, I think that's alright. But when it's anything regarding LGBT, that's pretty low. -.-

ACLU Demands That Schools Stop Unconstitutional Web Filtering Of LGBT Content

Dan82
Full Member

British Lad Guest

Dave
Full Member

kwyjibo
Full Member

Dave
Full Member

Holliepop
Regular Member

ACLU Demands That Schools Stop Unconstitutional Web Filtering Of LGBT Content

Thread Tools

Dan82 Full Member

British Lad Guest

Dave Full Member

kwyjibo Full Member

Dave Full Member

Holliepop Regular Member

Dan82
Full Member

Dave
Full Member

kwyjibo
Full Member

Dave
Full Member

Holliepop
Regular Member