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Re: American Airlines to Filter Pornography

From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Wed, 8 Oct 2008 12:44:25 -0400


Begin forwarded message:

From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
Date: October 8, 2008 12:23:27 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Cc: lauren () vortex com
Subject: Re: [IP] American Airlines to Filter Pornography


Dave,

How is American Airlines defining pornography again?  Topless photos?
Fully naked photos?  Nasty textual descriptions?  Can passengers
browse to the Playboy Web site, or the illustrated
sexually-transmitted diseases prevention section of a health site?
Does this prohibition only apply to "porn" -- or are non-sexual
"violent and disgusting" images sites also forbidden?

Seriously, will passengers be able to access Google Images or
Flickr?  YouTube?  There's no telling what sorts of goodies will pop
up on those that *someone* snooping at your laptop might find
upsetting!  We can't have anyone upset regarding what *you're*
looking at now can we?

Of course we know what AA will likely do.  They'll presumably use
one of the commercial filtering services that employ arbitrary block
lists and can usually be trivially bypassed via simple proxies and
other means.

And like most other Internet censors, AA will probably keep adding
to the prohibited list over time, in a desperate but hopeless attempt
at information control for ostensibly noble aims.

If AA put more effort into treating their passengers as at least a
higher class of cattle instead of playing Internet sex cop, we'd
all be better off.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren () vortex com or lauren () pfir org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
  - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, NNSquad
  - Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com

- - -


Begin forwarded message:

From: Robert Atkinson <rca53 () columbia edu>
Date: October 8, 2008 10:55:00 AM EDT
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: American Airlines to Filter Pornography

Dave,
To update the earlier discussion of this topic, according to an AP=20=20 story in today=92s New York Times, American Airlines announced yesterday=20= 
=20
that it =93would filter an in-flight Internet service to block=20=20
pornography sites after complaints from flight attendants and=20=20
passengers.=94 However, the article also noted that =93American...said it= 
=20=20
had not received reports that passengers were viewing =91inappropriate=20= 
=20
content=92 on the Gogo in-flight service but said filtering was =91an=20=20 appropriate measure to take.=92 So, apparently a pre-emptive action=20=20 
rather than one based on actual use.
What=92s the expectation on when a complaint will be filed at the FCC=20=20 alleging that AA=92s action violates the Commission=92s Broadband=20=20 
Principles?

Bob

--
Come to CITI's 25th anniversary celebration,
The International Summit on Communication & Media:
October 30, Gala Dinner
October 31, Conference
The Next Generation of Communication -
The Dawning of the Ultra-Broadband Era
For more information go to:
http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/citi/events/summit2008

Robert C. Atkinson
Director of Policy Research
Columbia Institute for Tele-Information (CITI)
http://www.citi.columbia.edu

office: 212-854-7576
mobile: 908-447-4201

E-mail: rca53 () columbia edu
alt: bob () robertcatkinson com






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<html><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webk= it-line-break: after-white-space; "><br><div><br><div>Begin forwarded messa= ge:</div><br class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><div><div style=3D"margin-= top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font = face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" color=3D"#000000" style=3D"font: 12.0px Helve= tica; color: #000000"><b>From: </b></font><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"= 
3" style=3D"font: 12.0px Helvetica">Robert Atkinson &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:r=
ca53 () columbia edu">rca53 () columbia edu</a>></font></div><div style=3D"margin= -top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font= face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" color=3D"#000000" style=3D"font: 12.0px Helv= etica; color: #000000"><b>Date: </b></font><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D= "3" style=3D"font: 12.0px Helvetica">October 8, 2008 10:55:00 AM EDT</font>= </div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin- bottom: 0px;= margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" color=3D"#000000" = style=3D"font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>To: </b></ font><font fa= ce=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px Helvetica">David Farber &= lt;<a href=3D"mailto:dave () farber net">dave () farber net</a>></font></ div><div= style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-le= ft: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" color=3D"#000000" style=3D"f= ont: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>Subject: </b></font><font face=3D= "Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px Helvetica"><b>American Airline= s to Filter Pornography</b></font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; marg= in-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><b= r></div> </div><div> <font face=3D"Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span style= =3D"font-size:12.0px">Dave,<br> <br> To update the earlier discussion of th= is topic, according to an AP story in today=92s New York Times, American Ai= rlines announced yesterday that it =93would filter an in-flight Internet se= rvice to block pornography sites after complaints from flight attendants an= d passengers.=94 However, the article also noted that =93American...said it= had not received reports that passengers were viewing =91inappropriate con= tent=92 on the Gogo in-flight service but said filtering was =91an appropri= ate measure to take.=92 &nbsp;So, apparently a pre-emptive action rather th= an one based on actual use.<br> <br> What=92s the expectation on when a com= plaint will be filed at the FCC alleging that AA=92s action violates the Co= mmission=92s Broadband Principles?<br> <br> Bob<br> <br> --<br> <b>Come to = CITI's 25th anniversary celebration</b>,<br> The International Summit on Co= mmunication &amp; Media:<br> <b>October 30</b>, Gala Dinner<br> <b>October = 31</b>, Conference <br> <i>The Next Generation of Communication - <br> The D= awning of the Ultra-Broadband Era<br> </i><b>For more information </ b>go to= :<br> </span></font><font color=3D"#0000FF"><font size=3D"2"><font face=3D"= Monaco, Courier New"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0px"><u><a href=3D"http://= 
www4.gsb.columbia.edu/citi/events/summit2008">http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/=
citi/events/summit2008</a><br> </u></span></font></font></font><font face= =3D"Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span style=3D"font-size:12.0px"><br> </span=
</font><span style=3D"font-size:12.0px"><font face=3D"Arial"><i>Robert C. =
Atkinson<br> Director of Policy Research<br> Columbia Institute for Tele-In= formation (CITI)<br> <a href=3D"http://www.citi.columbia.edu";>http://www.ci = ti.columbia.edu</a><br> <br> office: 212-854-7576<br> mobile: 908-447-4201<= br> <br> E-mail: <a href=3D"mailto:rca53 () columbia edu">rca53 () columbia edu </= a><br> alt: <a href=3D"mailto:bob () robertcatkinson com">bob@robertcatkinson.= com</a><br> </i></font><font face=3D"Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><br> <br> <= /font></span> </div> </div><br><div style=3D"padding:0 4px 4px 4px;backgro= 
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