Students are constantly using the internet as a way to communicate, conduct research, and a vast majority of other activities that are made available to them through this convenient resource. However, in many occasions, a student is unable to perform important research due to filters that stand in their way. Not everyone has personal internet resources, and it is important that everyone has access to credible information. Schools should provide unfiltered internet access.
Students should be provided with unfiltered internet access because filters do not do an adequate job of filtering. The ALA (American Library Association) explains how filters “block access to information that is legal and useful” (Wyatt). For example, references to subjects like Anne Sexton, a poet, and Super Bowl XXX are blocked due to protective software, despite the information being inoffensive (Wyatt). Filters are known for overblocking and malfunctioning, and they are not
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Multiple parents have sued public libraries for allowing their children to access pornography on the internet due to inadequate filters. In fact, many parents are quick to believe that libraries “have an ethical duty to protect their children” (Wyatt). However, it is not part of a librarian’s job to monitor children in libraries, and filters in place cause parents to believe that their children are safe under false pretenses. Officially, a public court maintained that “unsupervised use of computers is not a creation of danger” (Wyatt). Many students have access to unsupervised computers and can reach improperly filtered information, even though the parents believe that their children are protected from this. Therefore, filters create a false sense of protection for parents and students should be provided with unfiltered internet