CIPA and Internet Safety

January 7, 2005 12:32 PM

FilterFilter. High school, filtering, and the Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA). More information inside.

My high school technology administrator has told me I am not allowed to establish an SSH connection with my own computers because doing so would allow me to bypass their filters and therefore violate the CIPA.

However, under the CIPA, adults are allowed to request unfiltered access (which I learned thanks to jessamyn's presentation for librarians). While originally I assumed "adult" meant one at least 18 years of age, the ALA's CIPA FAQ says the act defines a minor as a person under the age of 17. As a 17 year old, does this really mean I can legally obtain unfiltered access (in the context of a school)?

Furthermore, most of the documents I've found regarding the CIPA focus on libraries, not schools. Any information about this law or others regarding filtering of computer access in schools would be appreciated.

I have my own ways of circumventing the filters, but they are of dubious legality and the tech department has been becoming more and more aware of them. If I could legally obtain unfiltered access, that would be a much better solution (and perhaps allow me to use SSH, a possible nice convenience during my computer science course next year).

posted by thebabelfish to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

CIPA is only about images. Basically the Supreme Court case decision was very narrow and determined that the law on its face was not unconstitutional. However, since the law mandates the use of filters on computers that might also be used by adults [and yes, for the purposes of CIPA you are an adult, hurray!] there is basically room for what is called an "as applied" challenge which is to say that while the law may be constitutional on its face, when it is used it may prohibit your access to constitutionally protected speech.

Read this long article for a more thorough analysis with regards to libraries and schools.

That said, there may be all sorts of reasons that the school won't/can't let you access ssh. On the other hand, if they're saying you can't do it because it "violates CIPA," that's crap. As a 17 year old, you are allowed to ask for unfiltered Internet access AND, if they block you, you could attempt a lawsuit. There is a good argument that "unfiltered internet" only includes http requests, so ssh I bet is still in a grey area. Note also that this is different from saying you are allowed to have unfiltered access the moment you ask for it. The request and lawsuit's effectiveness will only be as good as your interactions with the school, so keep this all well documented and keep your own nose clean in terms of working with the school on it. Ask for copies of their policies [as I said, they're the school so they could be prohibiting ssh for a completely other reason that very well might be legal due to the whole in loco parents thing] in writing and if you're feeling really frisky, call the local ACLU and see what they have to say.

All this said, there may be other local rules and legislation that cover the same ground but that are outside the scope of CIPA and that I don't know about so don't assume this is any way legal advice blah blah blah. Good luck.
posted by jessamyn at 2:00 PM on January 7, 2005

this is a nice clear summary. at one point it says:

All Internet access must be filtered, whether minors (under 17) or adults are using the computer, and regardless of how many computers with Internet access the school or library provides. However, CIPA’s requirements for what must be filtered are more restrictive for minors than adults, so libraries and schools may choose to implement different settings for the filters depending on whether adults or minors are using the computer.

just a little below that is

The E-Rate program explicitly permits an institution to “disable the technology protection measure concerned, during use by an adult, to enable access for bona fide research or other lawful purpose.” The law provides no definition of this phrase.

with the later qualification

When adults use computers in schools and libraries subject to CIPA’s E-Rate provisions, a librarian or administrator may disable the filtering software “to enable access for bona fide research or other lawful purposes.” However, the language does not appear to require that schools or libraries afford adults unfiltered access to the Internet, even for a so-called “bona fide” request.

so it seems to me that you can ask, and they may give you unfiltered access, but they are not compelled to, even if you are an adult.

which sucks, frankly. sorry.

(on preview - i got called away (dinner) and now it looks like you may have a better answer...)
posted by andrew cooke at 2:08 PM on January 7, 2005

having read jessamyn's reply, i suspect ssh not being "unfiltered internet" is a red herring - you can use it as a transport layer, effectively, so giving someone ssh access effectively gives them unfiltered access for http. but maybe i'm being too technical about it. i guess lawyers have other reasons for deciding things.
posted by andrew cooke at 2:12 PM on January 7, 2005

bleagh. must not repeat meaningless words so much.
posted by andrew cooke at 2:13 PM on January 7, 2005

Response by poster: Alright, thanks for the advice jessamyn and andrew cooke. I was wondering about the grey area SSH may fall under and you two made some good points I hadn't thought of.

I think I'll try to find some of their written policies and dig around for information on other laws of concern before bringing it up any further with the administrators.
posted by thebabelfish at 3:21 PM on January 7, 2005

Just as a side note, courts have been reluctant to apply constitutional and statutory protections that the rest of us enjoy to public school students. Whether this holds true with the law you cite, I'm not sure. But as you know, your high school is not a laboratory for free speech and due process. For that reason, and with all due respect to jessamyn, the "do it anyway and sue them later" approach may not be the advice you need.

You seem well-prepared and well-informed, so good luck to you. As a practical matter, assemble as much documentation as you can for technophobic school administrators. It's far easier to turn off a switch than to do something the right way, and technology freaks people out.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 3:48 PM on January 7, 2005

if you want a technical work-around, and have a home computer on a permanent connection, i bet that somewhere someone has a system based on a java applet and a dedicated server running on your own machine, so that you can access your machine via https, typing things into a browser (ie applet, or even just http post) window.

maybe just post over http (avoid get because they'll be looking at urls; i guess they might check post?). and an http password (maybe one that changes in some predictable way with time, so that if they snoop that...)

curses would be much more complicated, i guess. although a java applet could be simple with the right library.

you sound like you could probably write a basic prototype in a weekend (to be honest, i'd do it myself, but i'm going to busy for the next month... it sounds like the perfect project).

i think a solution like that is probably the right side of a fine line. you're using only open connections and you're giving yourself just tty access so there's no real worry about images.

in fact, is there a web interface to back orifice? or whatever the current best of breed trojan is?

ymmv. ianal. don't blame me when they kick you out of school...
posted by andrew cooke at 4:10 PM on January 7, 2005

Response by poster: Saucy Intruder: Yes, unfortunately the public school systems tend to be this way. I don't plan to charge into this, especially after a minor incident last year. I do plan to push the issue within reason, however, and I feel and have felt confident doing so because of my good relations and reputation with the administration and other staff.

andrew cooke: Technical work arounds are not a problem for me to implement (and I have in the past), however your idea is a good one which, as far as I see it, is immune to the trivial nitpicking they pulled on me last year ("running unauthorized programs" -- Firefox and PuTTY off a CD, nevermind half the student body had dozens of illegal copies of Quake III Arena floating about the network) because otherwise what I was doing was perfectly fine.
posted by thebabelfish at 4:32 PM on January 7, 2005