February 1997
Electronically Implanted "Values"
Software that renders the Internet child-safe can also screen out a wide range of legitimate information. Whose agenda is being served?
By Langdon Winner
Laws, regulations, police, education, propaganda-these are among the means societies have traditionally employed to promote and defend the values they deem crucial. Yet these efforts are now challenged by the vast possibilities for misbehavior that arise in today's networks of electronic communications. People end up seeing pictures, reading words, and indulging in activities that sometimes depart from prevailing community standards. The growing response to these mischievous practices is to implant prohibitions within the electronic hardware and software itself.
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