On June 23rd the Supreme Court upheld a law from Congress that would require libraries that receive Federal funding to install filtering devices on their Internet computers. This law, commonly called CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act), means that libraries throughout the country will have to purchase additional software to be installed on their public computers, software that is supposed to filter questionable web sites.

I’m not writing today to discuss the issues behind the Supreme Court’s decision, or whether I agree with it or not, but I did want to bring to light the fact that filters are not the best tool to guard against children seeing questionable materials via the Internet.

The misconception is that many people think that filters will make certain images go away when their children are surfing the net on their own. It would be nice to believe this, but it unfortunately isn’t true. Filters just don’t work that well, and it’s really quite easy to circumvent them. The people who manage questionable sites are pretty crafty, and they know how to get around filters. They are always going to be a step or two ahead of filtering software, so placing your faith in filters isn’t the wisest of choices.

The point I wish to make is that parents shouldn’t rely on filters to safeguard their children. The best method for making sure a child isn’t visiting questionable web sites is to teach them firsthand about the Internet. Show them how to use the Internet, give them a list of sites to visit, let them explore a little bit under your guidance, and generally spend some time together with them using the Internet (if you need some guidance on some sites that are safe for children, visit our recently updated Children’s Web Page). I’ve seen many parents using the Internet with their children, and it’s the best way to teach your child how to use it appropriately. Children who have been brought up to use the Internet in a suitable manner are usually the ones to ask immediately for help if they ever happen to stumble across a site they know they shouldn’t be accessing. Inappropriate use of the Internet hasn’t been a problem here in Martin County, and I think that’s a credit to the parents here in this community, but don’t begin to place your faith in filters because they just aren’t that dependable.

The Internet is a great tool and wonderful to use for informational and educational purposes, and for entertainment as well. But like anything else worth using it’s necessary to learn how to use it before diving right in. Spending time with your child and showing them how to use the Internet, establishing guidelines and sites they can visit, and following up with them when they use the Internet will teach them skills and values and will do a much better job at preventing unfortunate visits to websites than any filter ever will.

Bryan J. McCormick
Library Director
Martin County Library System

This article appeared in the July 12th weekend edition of the Fairmont Sentinel.