The bottom line is, parental involvement and oversight are key to knowing precisely what their children are doing. Let s face it, communications over the Internet do not invade individual s homes and appear on the computer screen without some effort. The odds are very slim that a user would come across a sexually explicit site by accident. Filtering programs such as Surf Watch, CyberPatrol, CyberSitter, X-Stop and NetNanny are also becoming increasingly sophisticated and popular for controlling content available to individual computer screens. These programs solve the problem by installing software on your computer that automatically blocks sexually explicit or inappropriate World Wide Web, FTP, and Gopher sites, Usenet newsgroups, and Internet Chat rooms.
American citizens send mixed messages to lawmakers.
One segment wants the government to mind its own business, while another segment wants the government to become more involved. Despite the opposing viewpoints about censorship, the Internet is a tool many have come to rely upon. There is still much improvement that needs to be made in developing and refining various technology used for filtering. We will continue to see improvements in equipment and processes used to keep children from being exposed to indecent materials. Parents will become more actively involved in their children's activities, including time spent on the Internet.