Hate sites

Hate sites have been a major community concern regarding the Internet. A particular concern has been children or young people being indoctrinated by these websites. Some hate sites explicity target children (see USA Today article (http://www.usatoday.com/life/2001-07-16-kid-hate-sites.htm)). Three main approaches have been proposed for this problem: education, content filtering software, and banning hate sites. Education involves educating people about the dangers posed by hate sites. Content filtering software (sometimes known as 'censorware') involves the installation of software on computers by parents or schools which blocks user access to hate sites (among other things.) Banning hate sites involves adopting civil or criminal penalties for those who place hate sites on the Internet.

Content filtering software has been criticised as being at times both overly broad (preventing access to some non-hate sites) and overly narrow (permitting access to some hate sites). The first is particularly a problem with software which works by filtering words, while the second is particularly a problem for software based on a list of sites to block. Since the definition of what constitutes a "hate site" is to some extent subjective, and the list of sites is maintained by private bodies (most frequently private companies), who often do not even reveal which sites their software blocks, those who decide which sites to block can abuse their power.

Both content filtering software and banning hate sites have been criticised as violating freedom of speech, although the second is viewed as a much more serious violation. In some countries, e.g. the United States, banning hate sites would be unconstitutional; but on many others (e.g. much of Europe) it is not considered to be a violation of human rights. The Council of Europe is (2001) considering a protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime[?], which would ban hate speech on the Internet.

External Links

• http://www.hatewatch.org
• http://www.adl.org

Examples of hate sites:

• www.stormfront.org
• www.jewwatch.com