Sites blocked by FamilyClick

8/1/2000
Bennett Haselton, bennett@peacefire.org

The following is a list of some sites that we discovered to be blocked by FamilyClick.com, during a test conducted on August 1, 2000, using a paid FamilyClick.com obtained by one of our members. These sites were blocked using an "18+" account; that is, an account with settings that FamilyClick recommends for users age 18 or older. (FamilyClick.com is one of the few ISP's where even the least restrictive type of account, the "over 18" account, still blocks some content.)

The FamilyClick category descriptions list the categories of sites that are blocked for an "18+" account: "Crime", "Hate Groups", "Pornography", "Illegal Promotion of Non-Medical Drugs", "Gambling Online", "Violence" and "Chat". These categories are described in more detail at the FamilyClick site. FamilyClick uses I-Gear for their blocking software, so these blocking category descriptions more or less match the descriptions given by Symantec on their Web site for the I-Gear blocking categories.

Since we had already decrypted I-Gear's list of blocked sites in March 2000, we used a combination of ad-hoc testing and a knowledge of sites already blocked by I-Gear, to find some sites blocked by FamilyClick. This list was compiled as part of testimony submitted by Bennett Haselton at the August 3 COPA Commission hearing. Since the list was compiled from about an hour's worth of ad-hoc testing, it gives only a representative sample of blocked sites.

(Note that the text of the error message displayed when a site is blocked -- "The requested site is not accessible" -- does not mean that the site was down, or that the requested page was "404 Not Found". The "not accessible" error is only displayed when FamilyClick blocks a site. If the site is down or the page is missing, the error message is different.)

Sample blocked sites

http://www.usembassy-china.org.cn/english/sandt/aidsdy97.htm
"AIDS Day 1997: China Responds to AIDS"
A report from the American Embassy in Beijing, on the growth of AIDS in China and reports from the Chinese medical community.






http://www.wscpg.org/adultstudy2.htm
"Gambling and Problem Gambling in Washington State"
A study of gambling and compulsive gambling in Washington State, commissioned by the Washington State Council on Problem Gambling and, according to the Acknowledgement section, funded by the Washington State Lottery. (Really.)






http://www.aids-sida.org/diccsida.htm
A very comprehensive dictionary of AIDS-related terms, in Spanish.






http://www.campsussex.org/
"Camp Sussex"
An organization that runs summer camp sessions for low-income children, supported by charitable donations. The site may have been added to FamilyClick's list due to the word "sex" in the domain name.






http://web.clas.ufl.edu/ipsa/journal/
"PSYART: A Hyperlink Journal for the Psychological Study of the Arts"
Essays on psychology in artistic expression, published by the Institute for the Psychological Study of the Arts, at the University of Florida.






http://www.remember.org/educate/elman.html
"Triangles and Tribulations: The Politics of Nazi Symbols"
An essay on the persecution of gay men and women in Nazi Germany. From Remember.org -- "Cybrary of the Holocaust", a collection of Holocaust-related essays and documents.






http://iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/cri/cri-jrnl/web/crj0107a.html
"Homosexuality: Fact and Fiction", from the Christian Research Journal, summer 1992
An essay arguing that homosexuality should be considered evil, and that limited acceptance of homosexuality in the United States today is founded on "dangerous myths".






http://riggenbach.org/html/d0013/g0005339.html
"Alice Ficken"
The only page on Riggenbach.org that was found in I-Gear's decrypted list of blocked sites from March 2000, this page is still blocked by FamilyClick. Presumably it was added to I-Gear's list because of the word "Ficken" in the page title, which means "to fuck" in German.






http://www.aclu.org/issues/gay/sodomy.html
From the American Civil Liberties Union: a state-by-state list of sodomy laws that have been successfully challenged by the ACLU and other groups in the United States. The page is clearly not pornographic, but it may have been added to FamilyClick's "bad site" list because of the words "oral and anal sex" near the top.






http://www.mumma.org/databases/mumma/mumma-surname.html
"Mumma, Moomaw, Mumaw and Muma Surname Index"
A resource for visitors doing genealogy work -- a list of individuals with the surname Mumma, Moomaw, Mumaw or Muma.






http://www.mfc.org/backgrounder/bg-pornography2.html
Minnesota Family Council "Backgrounder" on Pornography
(This page has moved to http://www.mfc.org/resources/backgrounders/pornography.htm.)
The disclaimer at the top of this report does say: "This backgrounder is intended for concerned adults; some of its content may not be appropriate for children," but none of the content in the report could be considered pornographic; the most potentially offensive passages in the report use clinical terms like "genitalia".






http://religioustolerance.org/chrw_int.htm
Misinformation on Wicca from "Christian" Web sites
Documentation of false or hateful information about Wicca and Wiccans appearing on purportedly "Christian" Web sites. From the Ontario Center for Religious Tolerance, a site about current and historical outbreaks of religious persecution.






http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/calahan.htm
"Countering Terrorism"
An essay on Israel's response to the attack on Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972. From the Federation of American Scientists, an organization that studies the impact of science and technology on global security.






http://www.aarc.org/patient_resources/tips/copd.html
"Eating Right: Tips for the COPD patient"
(This page has moved to http://www.aarc.org/patient_education/tips/copd.html; only the old URL is blocked by FamilyClick, not the new one.)
A list of dietary advice for patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).