Roland Perry - "is an ISP a 'Person'?"

[Andrew McLean]

In message <7U19jCInHAn9EAjT@highwayman.com>, Richard Clayton 
<richard@highwayman.com> writes
>Many businesses now run similar software in "firewalls" -- though I've
>not seen any research saying whether the agenda extends beyond X-rated
>material...  some businesses, to take an example, might wish to prevent
>access to employment agencies, competitors help wanted pages or just
>(for productivity reasons) to holiday booking sites!

I've come across such systems configured to

- block X-rated sites
- block "sports" sites (presumably productivity related)
- block web mail sites (to force the use of official (monitored) e-mail 
systems)
- warn of sites containing "strong language" e.g. slashdot and 
theregister and the OED! (presumably protecting the employer by 
protecting sensitive employees)
- not allow access via encrypted links e.g. https (encryption would 
prevent the employer monitoring the communications at the "firewall"). 
[This item makes this posting marginally on topic.]
- *attempt* to limit access to certain content types (e.g. allow PDF and 
HTML, disallow executable code)

These systems can be configured to "block" and also to "warn". If the 
rule is "warn" then the employee is given a reminder of company rules, 
possibly a warning that access is logged, but ultimately allowed access.

-- 
Andrew McLean