SAN JOSE — Councilman Pete Constant demonstrated an anti-porn filter at a local library last week in an attempt to show the improved effectiveness of porn-blocking software.
Amid a small crowd, the councilman went online and searched terms like “orgasm,” “women’s asses” and “bush tits.”
Constant, a longtime advocate of public porn filters, planned the demonstration using software filter WebSense in an attempt to show that content-control software has come a long way in accurately censoring pornographic websites while still allowing users the viewing of non-adult material.
According to the Mercury News, a search for "art nudes" allowed the viewing of some fully naked women but blocked out many others.
On a search for "whore," the filter blocked out a site for porn videos as well as a site on Gothic robes, TheClothingWhore.com. It did allow a site about a 1991 film by that name.
Constant has been battling the city’s ruling to disallow filters in public libraries since 1997.
Opponents argue that installing and maintaining the software is costly and ultimately ineffective, but primarily the issue is freedom of speech.
Many are concerned over the software blocking legitimate information in the public computers, like health and research sites. Critics of the plan are concerned with giving a software company the authority to decide what is pornographic and what is not.
The San Jose State University, which jointly runs the city's major libraries, are among those fighting the filtering policy. The city attorney also expressed worries over possible civil liberty violations.
Next month the city council will consider Constant's request to install the filtering software.
