Software filters might seem like a good idea to parents who want to protect their children from certain types of material online. They're definitely preferable to government censorship because they don't affect anyone who doesn't use one. The problem, though, is that filters don't work. Because they cannot hope to keep up with the Web's growth, they fail to block many pages that parents would want to filter out. And the programs invariably end up denying access to sites that should not have been blocked.
Filters also are notoriously easy to defeat.
The ADL HateFilter is a custom version of Cyber Patrol, a popular program that has been targeted by teen hackers who disapprove of such software. Last month, the teen anti-filtering group Peacefire posted a program that can sniff out the program's password, allowing any child to send the Cyber Patrolman off to the donut shop. Kids develop an instant curiosity about anything their parents try to keep from them. The program would turn hate speech into an attractive nuisance, a reward for challenging their parents' decision to censor their surfing. Whatever faith parents may have in filters is misplaced.