Papers

Research and Policy Papers on Filtering 

This section is intended as a comprehensive index of research, policy, and legal papers on filtering software created by government entities, filtering companies, advocacy groups, academic publications, and other organizations.   The papers are divided into eight general areas:

Education - The impact of filtering on educational environments
Governments - The use of filtering by national governments
Industry Analyst - Papers by analyst firms such as Gartner and IDC
Legal - The legal implications of filtering software
Research - The design and effectiveness of filtering software
Society & Policy - The societal and policy impacts of filtering
Security - The use of filtering software in information security
Vendor White Paper - Papers by filtering software vendors
Workplace -  The use of filtering software in the workplace.

Please send updates and corrections.  Note that access to many of the vendor and analyst papers requires a free registration with the vendor. 

 For a pdf version of this table with complete summaries, click here.

Subject Publisher Title
EDUCATION
Education National Telecommunications and Information Administration Children’s Internet Protection Act Study of Technology Protection Measures
Education Consortium for School Networking Safeguarding the Wired School House: A Briefing Paper on School District Options for Providing Access to Appropriate Internet Content
Education Electronic Privacy Information Center Mandated Mediocrity:Blocking Software Gets a Failing Grade
Governments
Governments Open Net Initiative Internet Filtering in Vietnam in 2005-2006
Governments First Monday The filtering matrix: Integrated mechanisms of information control and the demarcation of borders in cyberspace
Governments Open Net Initiative Internet Filtering in Tunisia in 2005: A Country Study
Governments Open Net Initiative Internet Filtering in Singapore in 2004-2005: A Country Study
Governments Open Net Initiative Internet Filtering in the United Arab Emirates in 2004-2005: A Country Study
Governments Open Net Initiative Internet Filtering in Iran in 2004-2005: A Country Study
Governments Open Net Initiative Internet Filtering in China in 2004-2005: A Country Study
Governments Open Net Initiative Internet Filtering in Burma in 2005: A Country Study
Governments Open Net Initiative Internet Filtering in Bahrain in 2004-2005
Governments Open Net Initiative Internet Filtering in China in 2004-2005
Governments Open Net Initiative Internet Filtering in Saudi Arabia in 2004
INDUSTRY ANALYST
Industry Analyst Gartner Magic Quadrant for Secure Web Gateway, 2007
Industry Analyst IDC Content Filtering: Multiple Layers of Threat Protection
Industry Analyst IDC The Evolution of Content Filtering: Multiple Layers of Threat Protection
Industry Analyst IDC Worldwide Secure Content Management 2005-2009 Forecast Update and 2004 Vendor Shares
Industry Analyst IDC Thinking Inside the Box: Benefits of an Internet Filtering Appliance
Industry Analyst IDC Content Security: The Business Value of Blocking Unwanted Content -
Industry Analyst IDC Employee Internet Management 2001: Getting More out of Less
Industry Analyst IDC Worldwide Secure Content Management Software Market Forecast and Analysis, 2002-2006:
Industry Analyst Ovum The Role of Information Filtering in Raising Business Efficiency:
LEGAL
Legal Open Net Initiative A Starting Point: Legal Implications of Internet Filtering
Legal First Monday Lawfully Surfing the Net: Disabling Public Library Internet Filters to Avoid More Lawsuits in the United States
Legal First Monday Potential legal challenges to the application of the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) in public libraries
Legal First Amendment Center Internet Filters and Public Libraries
Legal Concerned Women for America Library Procedures for Disabling Software Filtering and Unblocking Web Sites
Legal Cato Institute United States v. American Library Association: A Missed Opportunity for the Supreme Court to Clarify Application of First Amendment Law to Publicly FundedExpressive Institutions
Legal ACLU Censorship in a Box: Why Blocking Software is Wrong for Public Libraries
Legal Fordham Law Journal Like A Sieve: The Child Internet Protection Act and Ineffective Filters in Libraries
Legal ACLU Fahrenheit 451.2: Is Cyberspace Burning?
Legal Family Research Council Filtering and Blocking Technology: The Most Effective Methods of Protecting Children from Internet Pornography
Legal Harvard Law School What Things Regulate Speech: CDA 2.0 vs. Filtering
LIBRARIES
Libraries Public Library Association Plain Facts About Internet Filtering Software
Libraries ACLU Reader’s Block: Internet Censorship in Rhode Island Public Libraries
Libraries Information Use Management & Policy Institute Public Libraries and the Internet 2004: Survey Results and Findings
Libraries First Monday Lawfully Surfing the Net: Disabling Public Library Internet Filters to Avoid More Lawsuits in the United States
Libraries First Monday Potential legal challenges to the application of the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) in public libraries
Libraries First Amendment Center Internet Filters and Public Libraries
Libraries Concerned Women for America Library Procedures for Disabling Software Filtering and Unblocking Web Sites
Libraries Cato Institute United States v. American Library Association: A Missed Opportunity for the Supreme Court to Clarify Application of First Amendment Law to Publicly FundedExpressive Institutions
Libraries ACLU Censorship in a Box: Why Blocking Software is Wrong for Public Libraries
Libraries Fordham Law Journal Like A Sieve: The Child Internet Protection Act and Ineffective Filters in Libraries
Libraries ACLU Fahrenheit 451.2: Is Cyberspace Burning?
Libraries Family Research Council Dangerous Access, 2000 Ed: Uncovering Internet Porn in America’s Libraries
Libraries Tacoma Public Library Internet Use at the Tacoma Public Library: Our Findings and Experience
Libraries Family Research Council Filtering and Blocking Technology: The Most Effective Methods of Protecting Children from Internet Pornography
RESEARCH
Research Univ. of Cambridge Failures in a Hybrid Content Blocking System
Research Progress & Freedom Foundation Parental Controls and Online Child Protection: A Survey of Tools and Methods
Research Brennan  Center for Justice at NYU School of Law Internet Filters: A Public Policy Report
Research Communications of the CACM Calculating Error Rates for Filtering Software
Research National Telecommunications and Information Administration Children’s Internet Protection Act Study of Technology Protection Measures
Research National Research Council Youth, Pornography, and the Internet
Research Electronic Frontiers Foundation Blacklisting Bytes
Research University of British Columbia Controlling Access to the Internet: The Role of Filtering
Research University of Pennsylvania Cyberporn, Filters, and Public Policy: A Content Analysis Research Proposal
Research Electronic Privacy Information Center Mandated Mediocrity:Blocking Software Gets a Failing Grade
Research Commission on Child Online Protection COPA Commission Report to Congress
Research Censorware Project Passing Porn, Banning the Bible N2H2’s Bess in public schools
Research University of Pennsylvania  Filtering the Future?: Software Filters, Porn, Pics, and the Internet Content Conundrum
Research Censorware Project Protecting Judges Against Liza MinnelliThe WebSENSE Censorware at Work
Research Censorware Project The X-Stop Files: Deja Voodoo
Research Censorware Project Blacklisted by Cyber Patrol: From Ada to Yoyo
SECURITY
Security IDC Content Filtering: Multiple Layers of Threat Protection
Security IDC The Evolution of Content Filtering: Multiple Layers of Threat Protection
Security Secure Computing In today’s Web 2.0 environment, proactive security is paramount. Are you protected?
Security Fortient The Importance of FortiGuard Web Filtering as part of a Multi-Threat Security System
Security Websense Phishing and Pharming: Providing multi-layered, enterprise-wide protection from phishing and pharming exploit
Security SurfControl Raising the Level of Protection Against Today’s More Complex Internet Threats
Security Websense Avoiding the Newest Security Threats FromWeb-Based Attacks
Security St. Bernhard Filtering the Spectrum of Internet Threats: Defending Against Inappropriate Content, Spyware, IM and P2P at the Perimeter
Security Clearswift Guide to establishing acontent security e-Policy for Email and the Web
SOCIETY & POLICY
Society & Policy Progress & Freedom Foundation Parental Controls and Online Child Protection: A Survey of Tools and Methods
Society & Policy Brennan  Center for Justice at NYU School of Law Internet Filters: A Public Policy Report
Society & Policy Pew Internet & American Life Protecting Teens Online
Society & Policy Responsible Netizen Filtering Software: The Religious Connection
Society & Policy National Research Council Youth, Pornography, and the Internet
Society & Policy Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Access Denied, Version 2.0: The Continuing Threat Against Internet Access and Privacy and Its Impact on the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community
Society & Policy Peacefire Blind Ballots: Web Sites of U.S. Political Candidates Censored by Censorware
Society & Policy Commission on Child Online Protection COPA Commission Report to Congress
Society & Policy Yale Law School Filtering the Internet: A Best Practices Model
Society & Policy Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Access Denied, Version 1.0: The Impact of Internet Filtering Software on the Lesbian and Gay Community
Society & Policy Center for Democracy & Technology Internet Family Empowerment White Paper: How Filtering Tools Enable Responsible Parents to Protect Their Children Online
VENDOR WHITE PAPER
Vendor White Paper St. Bernard Safety Net: Internet Filtering
Vendor White Paper Secure Computing In today’s Web 2.0 environment, proactive security is paramount. Are you protected?
Vendor White Paper Dan’s Guardian “Meeting the Challenges of Web Content Filtering”.
Vendor White Paper Fortient The Importance of FortiGuard Web Filtering as part of a Multi-Threat Security System
Vendor White Paper Websense Phishing and Pharming: Providing multi-layered, enterprise-wide protection from phishing and pharming exploit
Vendor White Paper SurfControl Raising the Level of Protection Against Today’s More Complex Internet Threats
Vendor White Paper 8e6 Web-Based Proxies:Today’s Leading Threat to Internet-Assisted Learning
Vendor White Paper Aladdin URL Filtering White Paper
Vendor White Paper Barracuda Networks CIPA Compliance and the Barracuda Web Filter
Vendor White Paper Forsite Group for 8e6 Complying with CIPA and Keeping Children Safe on the Internet
Vendor White Paper ContentWatch Web Filtering and Monitoring for Small Business
Vendor White Paper ContentWatch Internet Filtering Solution: ContentWatch Internet Filtering
Vendor White Paper Websense Avoiding the Newest Security Threats FromWeb-Based Attacks
Vendor White Paper Forsite Group Web Filtering Appliances Heat Up the Hardware vs. Software Debate
Vendor White Paper Blue Coat Blue Coat WebFilter Technology
Vendor White Paper St. Bernhard The Powerful Technologies behind Best-of-Breed Internet Filtering
Vendor White Paper St. Bernhard Filtering the Spectrum of Internet Threats: Defending Against Inappropriate Content, Spyware, IM and P2P at the Perimeter
Vendor White Paper Forsite Group Use or Abuse? Why Your Company Needs A Web Policy
Vendor White Paper Secure Computing Best Practices for Monitoring and Filtering Internet Access in the Work Place
Vendor White Paper SurfControl Developing an Internet Access Policy: A Guide
Vendor White Paper SurfControl Internet Abuse at Work: Corporate Networks are Paying the Price
Vendor White Paper SurfControl Internet Content Management: Standard Operating Procedure for the Digital Workplace
Vendor White Paper SurfControl

Surfing the Web at Work: Corporate Networks Are Paying the Price
Vendor White Paper N2H2 The Facts on Filters: A Comprehensive Review of 26 Independent Laboratory Tests of the Effectiveness of Internet Filtering Software
Vendor White Paper Clearswift Guide to establishing acontent security e-Policy for Email and the Web
WORKPLACE
Workplace Forsite Group Use or Abuse? Why Your Company Needs A Web Policy
Workplace Secure Computing Best Practices for Monitoring and Filtering Internet Access in the Work Place
Workplace SurfControl Developing an Internet Access Policy: A Guide
Workplace SurfControl Internet Abuse at Work: Corporate Networks are Paying the Price
Workplace SurfControl Internet Content Management: Standard Operating Procedure for the Digital Workplace
Workplace SurfControl

Surfing the Web at Work: Corporate Networks Are Paying the Price

© 2007, David Burt & Filtering Facts