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censorware Last modified: Wednesday, May 19, 2004

A category of software that is also referred to as Internet blocking or Internet filtering software. Censorware limits the user’s access to content on the Internet. The term is often used pejoratively as it implies that certain Internet content is being censored from the user, not filtered. Libraries and schools commonly use this type of filtering software to restrict its users from accessing pornography. However, the use of censorware is controversial for a number of reasons, including: The criteria used to block Web sites is subjective. Someone else is deciding what the users should have access to. There is the potential to discriminate against a community by blocking access to specific sites and information. The software typically relies on natural language keywords to block sites that contain those words. Many words have multiple meanings depending on the context in which they are used. Web sites that use words in a different sense than the way they are used in blocked sites will be rendered inaccessible by the software. The software also keeps a “blacklist” of sites that it will not allow the user to access. A high margin for error in filtering sites that mistakenly are filtered. Critics of the software argue that parents rely on this flawed system to monitor what they themselves should be monitoring for their children.