Northern Illinois U. Blocks Access to Websites it Deems ‘Unethical’
It doesn’t matter where your politics are, this is plain wrong.
Susan Kruth of the FIRE blog reports.
Northern Illinois U. Blocks Access to ‘Unethical’ Websites
Northern Illinois University (NIU) has enacted a stunningly restrictive network use policy and is enforcing it through a filter that blocks or tags websites based on content—including speech clearly protected by the First Amendment.
NIU’s policy is in the news after one NIU student posted to Reddit a “Web Page Access Warning” he received while trying to visit the Wikipedia page about the Westboro Baptist Church from his dorm room. Betabeat reported on this and other student experiences with the filter, criticizing the public university for blocking access to a wide range of online expression.
The warning received by the Reddit user categorizes the Westboro Baptist Church’s Wikipedia page as “Illegal or Unethical.” While the warning appears to allow the student to click through to view the page, it notes that the URL the student is trying to access “has been recorded for review” and ominously states that “[u]nless you are accessing this site for legitimate business purposes, it is highly probable that the access would violate the Northern Illinois Acceptable Use Policy.” Betabeat reports that other websites are permanently blocked to NIU students.
Whether students are prohibited from visiting a website altogether or simply greeted by this bizarre threat of punishment, NIU’s enforcement of its policy is an egregious act of censorship.
NIU’s Acceptable Use Policy, enacted on July 25, states, in part:
Examples of unacceptable uses include, but are not limited to, the following:
[…]
Using the resources for political activities, including organizing or participating in any political meeting, rally, demonstration, soliciting contributions or votes, distributing material, surveying or polling for information connected to a political campaign, completing political surveys or polling information, and any other activities prohibited under the ethics act and/or other state/federal laws.
[…]
Use of personal social media sites, following specific direction to cease or not utilize university equipment or time to an extent or during time periods that would interfere with professional responsibilities, including, but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Foursquare, etc., unless associated with professional responsibilities.
Comments
I just love how they are trying to justify this by saying it is to “protect their network”. What do you want to bet they haven’t blocked any of the virus riddled Porn sites?
I seriously dislike Westboro Church, but if I want to look at their site, that’s my business.
A lot of students in the dorm HAVE to go through the university server – so this is censorship. They restrict the students from getting access except through them, and then claim they can filter it.
My real problem is how they are probably (or will filter) to their own political views.
Whether I were either a potential student or a parent providing financial support, Northern Illinois would not be getting my dollars with such a policy in place.
Whether a publicly-funded university should have the right to both possess a monopoly as the sole wired ISP and filter internet traffic is a good question, and it will be interesting to see if there is any pushback from students or faculty.
In the mean time, the university seems to have shot itself in the foot already. The fact that the first publicized incident about their filter and ‘double secret probation’ record-keeping of those clicking through it happens to be as nonsensical as this one speaks volumes about the potential absurdity of such a system.
This wasn’t a case of someone wanting to visit Westboro’s site, it was someone wanting to see the wiki page regarding Westboro. If there’s anything offensive about it other than that it appears to accurately record the church’s horrific history, it’s hard to see what it is.
And since it was blocked not due to being offensive but rather ‘unethical’, it appears, legality and morality aside, to be an ideal example of the purely practical folly of what NIU is attempting.