Gay group opposes Net filtering

When many gays and lesbians, especially those who have found a refuge on the Internet, cheered the defeat of Communications Decency Act, they didn't know their battle was far from over: they still had to contend with filtering and ratings technologies, the report states.

"Unfortunately, the advent of Internet filtering software and ratings systems mean cyberspace is poised on the edge of doing to gay men and lesbians what the CDA was prevented from doing--rendering us invisible," the report states.

GLAAD, which has taken an active role in cyberspace, denounces filtering programs that automatically screen out non-sexually explicit lesbian and gay content. Many filtering programs do not inform the user of what sites are being blocked. GLAAD states that at the very least, software should fully disclose what criteria it uses to filter.

Preferably, GLAAD says, filtering software should not screen on the basis on sites that simply have gay and lesbian content.

Cyberspace allows many gays and lesbians to explore issues of sexuality anonymously, without the threat of rejection or violence. Because of that, many gay and lesbian online advocates estimate there are a disproportionately large number of gay- and lesbian-oriented sites online, ranging from political and social groups to companies providing sexually explicit material.

GLAAD worries that gay youth and children of gay parents, who have found information often not available elsewhere, will be shut out by software that filters out all gay sites.

While parents should have a right to screen out whatever sites they want, they should be given full control over filtering software, the report states.

"We just think it's really important to make sure that the responsibility is put in the hands of parents and not decided before the parents get to make the choice," Joan Garry, executive director of GLAAD, said today.