Resources

INTERNET FILTERS
A PUBLIC POLICY REPORT

APPENDIX B: Blocking Categories for Different Filters Defined

Bess: Blocking Categories

  • Adults Only: "[s]ites that are labeled by the author or publisher as being strictly for adults";

  • Alcohol: "[s]ites that advocate or promote the recreational use of alcoholic beverages. This category can include, but is not limited to, sites that contain information about drink mixes, home-brew recipes, and drinking games";

  • Auctions: "[s]ites that offer access to online auctions. Online auctions are rarely monitored for content and can contain rapidly changing material, potentially exposing users to material that would otherwise be filtered under categories such as Pornography, Weapons, Lingerie, or Violence";
  • Chat: "[s]ites that offer access to online chat rooms or downloadable chat software that enables users to converse online by posting and receiving real-time messages";
  • Drugs: "[s]ites that promote or advocate recreational drug use. This category is not limited to controlled substances. Sites that promote or advocate recreational use of prescription drugs are also included. This category includes sites that contain information about meth labs; growing, buying, or selling marijuana, glass pipes, or bongs; mixing a legal substance with alcohol; and various forms of fume inhaling";
  • Electronic Commerce: "[s]ites that allow users to make online purchases";
  • Free Mail: "[s]ites that offer free Web-based e-mail accounts. Such sites can expose users to harmful content delivered via e-mail file attachments";
  • Free Pages: "[s]ites that offer free Web site space, such as Geocities or Talkcity. Although many of these free Web site providers post rules and regulations about content, they do not always adequately monitor these pages. Users often abuse these services by posting offensive content under multiple user names, making them difficult to track. Individual pages that have been reviewed by N2H2 on such sites are removed from this category, but are filed under other categories as necessary";
  • Gambling: "[s]ites where you place a bet using a credit card with the expectation of winning a prize";
  • Hate/Discrimination: "[s]ites that specifically target a group of people based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or ethnicity in a hateful, derogatory manner. The language of these sites often includes racial slurs and is insulting, abusive, and sometimes violent";
  • History: sites containing material that falls into one or more blocking categories--sexually oriented content, for instance, or violence--but are "non-fictional and historically significant";
  • Illegal: "[s]ites that promote illegal activities, or offer instructions or advice that can be used to commit illegal activities. Such activities include making or distributing child pornography, bomb making, hacking (breaching computer security), phreaking (breaching phone security or phone service theft), lock picking, selling pirated material (such as music, videos, software, or fake IDs), and counterfeiting";
  • Lingerie: "[s]ites that provide photos of models wearing lingerie, underwear, or otherwise scant attire";
  • Medical: sites containing material that falls into one or more blocking categories, but for the purposes relating to "the study or practice of medicine";
  • Moderated: "sites that allow access to moderated message/bulletin boards or chat sites. These sites must state that efforts are made to prevent offensive material from being posted";
  • Murder/Suicide: "[s]ites that offer information about committing murder or suicide, or that contain photos of crime scenes or autopsies";
  • Nudity: "[s]ites that contain photos or images of bare or visible genitalia, pubic hair, buttocks, or female breasts. This category includes only sites that contain non-pornographic nudity (that is, nudity that is not sexually arousing or erotic)";
  • Personal Information: "[s]ites that gather unnecessary personal information, such as name, address, credit card number, school, or personal schedules, that may be used for malicious intent";
  • Personals: "[s]ites that contain personal advertisements, including information about mail-order brides, dating services, escort services, or pen pals";
  • Pornography: "[s]ites that contain material that is sexually arousing or erotic. This includes photos, animation, cartoons, and stories. Sex Sites that include descriptions or depictions of sexual acts, specifically those without the intent to arouse. Sexual merchandise and fetish sites also fall under this category";
  • Profanity;
  • School Cheating Info: "[s]ites that promote plagiarism or cheating among students by providing term papers, written essays, or exam answers";
  • Search Terms: "This category restricts access to search results pages based upon key words that are known to return offensive results. This helps to eliminate links to offensive Web sites from appearing in search results as well as offensive Web site descriptions";
  • Sex: "[d]escriptions or depictions of sexual acts, specifically those with the intent to arouse. Sexual merchandise and fetish sites will also fall under this category";
  • Tasteless/Gross: "[s]ites that include content such as tasteless humor, excretory functions (vomiting, urinating, or defecating), graphic medical or accident photos (containing blood or wounds), and some extreme forms of body modification (cutting, branding, or genital piercing)";
  • Text/Spoken Only: "sites that contain material that may be in another category, such as Pornography, but that is strictly in text or spoken word format. For example, Text/Spoken Only distinguishes written erotica from graphic pornography sites";
  • Tobacco: "[s]ites that advocate or promote the recreational use of tobacco";
  • Violence: "[s]ites that include graphic images or written descriptions of reckless violence or grave injury (for example, mutilation, maiming, or dismemberment). This includes graphically violent games";
  • Weapons: "[s]ites that provide information about buying, making, modifying, or using weapons. Weapons include, but are not limited to, guns, knives, swords, or ammunitions."

"History": sites containing material that falls into one or more blocking categories--sexually oriented
     content, for instance, or violence--but are "non-fictional and historically significant"; "Medical":
     sites containing material that falls into one or more blocking categories, but for the purposes
     relating to "the study or practice of medicine"; "Moderated": "sites that allow access to moderated
     message/bulletin boards or chat sites. These sites must state that efforts are made to prevent
     offensive material from being posted"; and "Text/Spoken Only": "sites that contain material that
     may be in another category, such as Pornography, but that is strictly in text or spoken word format.
     For example, Text/Spoken Only distinguishes written erotica from graphic pornography sites"

Cyber Patrol: Blocking Categories

  • Violence/Profanity: "[p]ictures exposing, text or audio describing extreme cruelty, physical or emotional acts against any animal or person that are primarily intended to hurt or inflict pain"; "obscene words or phrases, either audio, text or pictures";

  • Partial Nudity: "[p]ictures exposing the female breast or full exposure of either male or female buttocks except when exposing genitalia." This category does not encompass images of individuals wearing swimsuits, "including thongs";
  • Full Nudity: "[p]ictures exposing any or all portions of the human genitalia." Cyber Patrol notes, however, that the partial and full nudity categories do not extend to "nudity or partial nudity of a non-prurient nature," citing as examples the Web sites of National Geographic and Smithsonian magazines and museums such as the Louvre;
  • Sexual Acts: "[p]ictures, descriptive text or audio of anyone or anything involved in explicit sexual acts and/or lascivious behavior, including masturbation, copulation, pedophilia, intimacy involving nude or partially nude people in heterosexual, bisexual, lesbian or homosexual encounters. Also includes phone sex ads, dating services, adult personal ads, CD-ROMs and videos";
  • Gross Depictions: "[p]ictures, descriptive text or audio of anyone or anything which are crudely vulgar or grossly deficient in civility or which show scatological impropriety. Includes such depictions as maiming, bloody figures, autopsy photos or indecent depiction of bodily functions";
  • Intolerance: "[p]ictures or text advocating prejudice or discrimination against any race, color, national origin, religion, disability or handicap, gender, or sexual orientation. Any picture or text that elevates one group over another. Also includes intolerant jokes or slurs";
  • Satanic/Cult: "[p]ictures or text advocating devil worship, an affinity for evil, or wickedness. A cult is defined as [a] closed society, often headed by a single individual, where loyalty is demanded, leaving may be punishable, and in some instances, harm to self or others is advocated. Common elements may include . . . encouragement to join, recruiting promises, and influences that tend to compromise the personal exercise of free will and critical thinking";
  • Drugs/Drug Culture: "[p]ictures or text advocating the illegal use of drugs for entertainment. Includes substances used for other than their primary purpose to alter the individual's state of mind, such as glue sniffing. This category does not [SurfControl's emphasis] include material about the use of illegal drugs when they are legally prescribed for medicinal purposes (e.g., drugs used to treat glaucoma or cancer)";
  • Militant/Extremist: "[p]ictures or text advocating extremely aggressive and combative behaviors, or advocacy of unlawful political measures. Topics include groups that advocate violence as a means to achieve their goals. Includes 'how to' information on weapons making, ammunition making or the making or use of pyrotechnics materials. Also includes the use of weapons for unlawful reasons";
  • Sex Education: "[p]ictures or text advocating the proper use of contraceptives…. [T]his category will include discussion sites on how to talk to your partner about diseases, pregnancy and respecting boundaries. The Sex Education category is uniquely assigned; sites classified as Sex Education are not classified in any other category. This permits the user to block or allow the Sex Education category as appropriate…. Not included in the category are commercial sites that sell sexual paraphernalia. These sites are typically found in the Sex Acts category";
  • Questionable/Illegal & Gambling: "[p]ictures or text advocating materials or activities of a dubious nature which may be illegal in any or all jurisdictions, such as illegal business schemes, chain letters, copyright infringement, computer hacking, … using someone's phone lines without permission and software piracy. Also includes text advocating gambling relating to lotteries, casinos, betting, numbers games, online sports or financial betting, including non-monetary dares and '1-900- type numbers";
  • Alcohol & Tobacco: "[p]ictures or text advocating the sale, consumption, or production of alcoholic beverages of tobacco products, including commercial sites in which alcohol or tobacco products are the primary focus."

CYBERsitter

  • Adult/sexually oriented: "all adult oriented web sites";

  • PICS Ratings adult topics: "all topics not suitable for children under the age of 13";
  • Sites promoting gay and lesbian activities: "sites promoting the gay and lesbian life style";
  • Sites advocating illegal/radical activities: "topics such as bomb making, guns, drugs, etc. Basically anything that would be considered illegal for someone under the age of 13";
  • Sites advocating hate and/or intolerance: "topics such as anti-religious or racist material";
  • Sites promoting cults and/or occult activities: "topics such as cult activities, witchcraft, Satanism, etc.";
  • Chat rooms, sites, and chat servers;
  • Popup Windows;
  • On-line Games and Game Sites: "numerous game related sites of all kinds";
  • Gambling: "gambling, on-line casinos and other wagering web sites";
  • Sports and Leisure Activities: "topics like sports news, MTV type sites, games, etc.";
  • WWW Advertising: "[e]liminates banner advertising from many major search engines, popular web sites";
  • MS Macro Files;
  • On-line Auctions;
  • Violent Games: "game sites involving violent activities";
  • Wrestling;
  • Free E-Mail Sites;
  • Illegal MP3 Sites;
  • Job Search;
  • Movie Sites;
  • Financial Sites: "on-line trading, credit card, and financial related web sites";
  • Pokemon.

FamilyClick

"Full FamilyClick access"

  • Crime: "[s]ites providing instructions on performing criminal activities or acquiring illegal items";
  • Hate Groups: "[s]ites that advocate intolerance or hatred of a person or group of people";
  • Pornography: "[s]ites intended to be sexually arousing or erotic";
  • Illegal Drug Promotion for Non-medical Drugs: "[s]ites providing information on illegal drugs for non-medical use";
  • Gambling Online: "[s]ites dedicated to participation in wagering and gambling";
  • Violence: "[s]ites that depict or advocate violence that do not fall under the 'Hate Group' category"
  • Chat: "[s]ites that are not DDR™ (Dynamic Document Review) protected"

"Teen access" blocks all the above and

  • Personals: "[s]ites dedicated to personals, dating escort services, or mail-order marriages";

  • Illegal Drug Promotion: "[s]ites advocating the legal use of illegal drugs";
  • Chat/Message Boards: "[c]hat sites and message boards not specifically approved by FamilyClick";
  • Non-FamilyClick Email Services: "[s]ites providing interactive email services."

"Pre-Teen access" blocks all the above and

  • Revealing Attire: "[s]ites featuring pictures that include alluring or revealing attire";
  • Advanced Sex Education: "[s]ites providing medical discussions of sexually transmitted diseases, sites providing information of an educational nature on pregnancy and family planning, sites providing information on sexual assault and sites providing information and instructions on the use of birth control devices";
  • Weapons: "[s]ites that display, sell, or advocate the use of weapons";
  • Games: "[g]ame sites designed for teens and older."

"Kids access" blocks all the above and

  • Basic Sex Education: "[s]ites providing information at the elementary level about puberty and reproduction. Includes clinical names for reproductive organs."

I-Gear: Blocking Categories

  • Crime: "[s]ites providing instructions on performing criminal activities or acquiring illegal ite,s, inluding defeating security, disabling, or otherwise interfering with computer systems (hacking or cracking); unauthorized use of telephone or communications equipment to place free calls or charge another's account for calls (phreaking); deactivating copy protection or registration schemes of software or hardware systems (pirating and warez); construction and usage of munitions such as pipe bombs, letter bombs, and land mines; and lock picking, spying, or general subterfuge and defeating of security measures";

  • Drugs/Advocacy: "[s]ites advocating the legal use of illegal drugs for medical and personal use";
  • Drugs/Non-medical: [s]ites providing information on growth, distribution, and advocacy of drugs for non medical use (typically mood altering). Does not cover alcohol or tobacco products";
  • E/Games: "[s]ites dedicated to games, gaming, game tips, game downloads, interactive games, and multiplayer games";
  • E/Sports: "[s]ites dedicated to professional and amateur sports and sporting events";
  • Interactive/Chat: "[s]ites providing interactive and communication services, such as Webchat, bulletin boards, and IRC";
  • Finance: "[s]ites dedicated to personal finance, banking, stock trading, and wealth accumulation";
  • Gambling: "[s]ites dedicated to promotion of or participation in wagering, gambling, casinos, or lotteries";
  • Interactive/Mail: "[s]ites providing interactive electronic-mail services";
  • Intolerance: "[s]ites advocating intolerance or hatred of a person or group of people";
  • Job Search: "[s]ites dedicated to job searching, job listings, resume exchanges, and head hunting";
  • News: "[s]ites providing news coverage of regional and international events and weather services";
  • Occult/New Age: "[s]ites dedicated to occult and New Age topics including but not limited to astrology, crystals, fortune-telling, psychic powers, tarot cards, palm reading, numerology, UFOs, witchcraft, and Satanism";
  • Sex/Acts: "[s]ites depicting or implying sex acts, including pictures of masturbation not categorized under sexual education. Includes sites selling sexual or adult products;
  • Sex/Attire: "[s]ites featuring pictures that include alluring or revealing attire, lingerie and swimsuit shopping areas, or supermodel photo collections but do not involve nudity;
  • Sex/Personals: "[s]ites dedicated to personal ads, dating, escort services, or mail-order marriages;
  • Sex/Nudity: "[s]ites with pictures of exposed breasts or genitalia that do not include or imply sex acts. Includes sites with nudity that is artistic in nature or intended to be artistic, including photograph galleries, paintings that may be displayed in museums, and other readily identifiable art forms. Includes nudist and naturist sites that contain pictures of nude individuals";
  • SexEd/Basic: "[s]ites providing information at the elementary level about puberty and reproduction. Includes clinical names for reproductive organs (e.g., penis)";
  • SexEd/Advanced: "[s]ites providing medical discussions of sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhea, and HIV/AIDS. May include medical pictures of a graphic nature. Sites providing information of an educational nature on pregnancy and family planning, including abortion and adoption issues. Sites providing information on sexual assault, including support sites for victims of rape, child molestation, and sexual abuse. Sites providing information and instructions on the use of birth control devices. May include some explicit pictures or illustrations intended for instructional purposes only. May include slang names for reproductive organs, or clinical discussions of reproduction";
  • SexEd/Sexuality: "[s]ites dealing with topics in human sexuality. Includes sexual technique, sexual orientation, cross-dressing, transvestites, transgenders, multiple-partner relationships, and other related issues";
  • Violence: "[s]ites that depict or advocate violence, including sites promoting violent terrorist acts against others that do not fall under the 'Intolerance' category";
  • Weapons: "[s]ites that display, sell, or advocate the use of weapons, including guns, knives, and martial-arts weaponry."

SafeSurf: Ratings Key

SS~~000. Age Range

1) All Ages

2) Older Children

3) Teens

4) Older Teens

5) Adult Supervision Recommended

6) Adults

7) Limited to Adults

8) Adults Only

9) Explicitly for Adults

SS~~001. Profanity

1) Subtle Innuendo: Subtly Implied through the use of Slang

2) Explicit Innuendo: Explicitly implied through the use of Slang

3) Technical Reference: Dictionary, encyclopedic, news, technical references

4) Non-Graphic-Artistic: Limited non-sexual expletives used in a artistic fashion

5) Graphic-Artistic: Non-sexual expletives used in a artistic fashion

6) Graphic: Limited use of expletives and obscene gestures

7) Detailed Graphic: Casual use of expletives and obscene gestures.

8) Explicit Vulgarity: Heavy use of vulgar language and obscene gestures. Unsupervised Chat Rooms.

9) Explicit and Crude: Saturated with crude sexual references and gestures. Unsupervised Chat Rooms.

SS~~002. Heterosexual Themes

1) Subtle Innuendo: Subtly Implied through the use of metaphor

2) Explicit Innuendo: Explicitly implied (not described) through the use of metaphor

3) Technical Reference: Dictionary, encyclopedic, news, medical references

4) Non-Graphic-Artistic: Limited metaphoric descriptions used in an artistic fashion

5) Graphic-Artistic: Metaphoric descriptions used in an artistic fashion

6) Graphic: Descriptions of intimate sexual acts

7) Detailed Graphic: Descriptions of intimate details of sexual acts

8) Explicitly Graphic or Inviting Participation: Explicit Descriptions of intimate details of sexual acts designed to arouse. Inviting interactive sexual participation. Unsupervised Sexual Chat Rooms or Newsgroups.

9) Explicit and Crude or Explicitly Inviting Participation: Profane Graphic Descriptions of intimate details of sexual acts designed to arouse. Inviting interactive sexual participation. Unsupervised Sexual Chat Rooms or Newsgroups.

SS~~003. Homosexual Themes

1) Subtle Innuendo: Subtly Implied through the use of metaphor

2) Explicit Innuendo: Explicitly implied (not described) through the use of metaphor

3) Technical Reference: Dictionary, encyclopedic, news, medical references

4) Non-Graphic-Artistic: Limited metaphoric descriptions used in an artistic fashion

5) Graphic-Artistic: Metaphoric descriptions used in an artistic fashion

6) Graphic: Descriptions of intimate sexual acts

7) Detailed Graphic: Descriptions of intimate details of sexual acts

8) Explicitly Graphic or Inviting Participation: Explicit descriptions of intimate details of sexual acts designed to arouse. Inviting interactive sexual participation. Unsupervised Sexual Chat Rooms or Newsgroups.

9) Explicit and Crude or Explicitly Inviting Participation: Profane Graphic Descriptions of intimate details of sexual acts designed to arouse. Inviting interactive sexual participation. Unsupervised Sexual Chat Rooms or Newsgroups.

SS~~004. Nudity

1) Subtle Innuendo: Subtly Implied through the use of composition, lighting, shaping, revealing clothing, etc.

2) Explicit Innuendo: Explicitly implied (not shown) through the use of composition, lighting, shaping or revealing clothing

3) Technical Reference: Dictionary, encyclopedic, news, medical references

4) Non-Graphic-Artistic: Classic works of art presented in public museums for family viewing

5) Graphic-Artistic: Artistically presented without full frontal nudity

6) Graphic: Artistically presented with frontal nudity

7) Detailed Graphic: Erotic frontal nudity

8) Explicit Vulgarity: Pornographic presentation, designed to appeal to prurient interests.

9) Explicit and Crude: Explicit pornographic presentation

SS~~005. Violence

1) Subtle Innuendo

2) Explicit Innuendo

3) Technical Reference

4) Non-Graphic-Artistic

5) Graphic-Artistic

6) Graphic

7) Detailed Graphic

8) Inviting Participation in Graphic Interactive Format

9) Encouraging Personal Participation, Weapon Making

SS~~006. Sex, Violence, and Profanity

1) Subtle Innuendo

2) Explicit Innuendo

3) Technical Reference

4) Non-Graphic-Artistic

5) Graphic-Artistic

6) Graphic

7) Detailed Graphic

8) Explicit Vulgarity

9) Explicit and Crude

SS~~007. Intolerance

1) Subtle Innuendo

2) Explicit Innuendo

3) Technical Reference

4) Non-Graphic-Literary

5) Graphic-Literary

6) Graphic Discussions

7) Endorsing Hatred

8) Endorsing Violent or Hateful Action

9) Advocating Violent or Hateful Action

SS~~008. Glorifying Drug Use

1) Subtle Innuendo

2) Explicit Innuendo

3) Technical Reference

4) Non-Graphic-Artistic

5) Graphic-Artistic

6) Graphic

7) Detailed Graphic

8) Simulated Interactive Participation

9) Soliciting Personal Participation

SS~~009. Other Adult Themes

1) Subtle Innuendo

2) Explicit Innuendo

3) Technical Reference

4) Non-Graphic-Artistic

5) Graphic-Artistic

6) Graphic

7) Detailed Graphic

8) Explicit Vulgarity

9) Explicit and Crude

SS~~00A. Gambling

1) Subtle Innuendo

2) Explicit Innuendo

3) Technical Discussion

4) Non-Graphic-Artistic, Advertising

5) Graphic-Artistic, Advertising

6) Simulated Gambling

7) Real Life Gambling without Stakes

8) Encouraging Interactive Real Life Participation with Stakes

9) Providing Means with Stakes

SmartFilter: Pre-Version 3.0 Blocking Categories

  • Alternative Journals: "from personal 'E-Zines' to literary and culturally-oriented publications. This does not include electronic forms of mainstream magazines and newspapers";
  • Art and Culture: "virtual art galleries and other cultural topics, such as museums and country customs, and so on";
  • Chat: "Web-based (via HTTP, not IRC) chat groups pertaining to all sorts of subjects";
  • Criminal Skills: sites that provide "either instructions or identification of methods to promote, encourage, or provide the skills to commit illegal, criminal activities. This includes such examples as bomb making instructions, lock picking, computer hacking, burglary, murders, rapes and so on";
  • Cults/Occult: sites with material relating to "the occult, cults, and other extremist views";
  • Dating: sites discussing "topics related to dating and relationship," such as "listings of personal advertisement, tips for attracting a companion, and online dating services";
  • Drugs: sites that "provide information on the purchase and use of illegal or recreational drugs"--"including," according to SmartFilter's current control list, "Freespeech.org-- Drug/Marijuana archive." (No such archive was located on freespeech.org in March and April 2001);
  • Entertainment: "URLs pertaining to such things as movies, television, music, hobbies, clubs, and amusement parks";
  • Extreme, Obscene, or Violence: "URLs that may fall into other categories, but push the limits of acceptability because of their particularly graphic nature. These URLs are typically extremely violent, gory, or horrific in nature and may be related to sex, bodily functions, obscenity, or perverse activities";
  • Gambling: "URLs that encourage betting money or items on the outcome of games and contests. It includes sites offering gaming, bookmaker odds, lottery pages, and bingo";
  • Games: "URLs whose focus is traditional board games, and role-playing games such as Battleship and Dungeons and Dragons. The category also includes video and online games, game reviews, and any URLs that promote game makers such as Mattel";
  • General News: "most online news and mainstream trade publications, such as business, trade, and medical journals, as well as high school and university newspapers";
  • Hate Speech: "any sort of propaganda that would encourage the oppression of a specific group of individuals. This includes such things as derogatory speech against women, minorities, and the disabled";
  • Humor: "sites that intend to be comical or funny. They include general jokes, comic pages, comedy clubs"--and Dilbert;
  • Investing: "sites that deal with personal investments and investment options";
  • Job Search: "anything related to a job search";
  • Lifestyle: sites that "contain discussions or material relevant to an individual's personal life, whether it be unique characteristics or orientation. The sites may include such things as straight men's groups, gay and lesbian discussions, senior citizen clubs, transgender issues, vegetarianism, naturism, and more";
  • Online Sales and Merchandising: sites offering "the sale of any form of merchandise or service that will benefit the individual only, such as the sale of clothing, accessories, appliances, pets, etc. This may also overlap into other categories such as the sale of sex merchandise, sports memorabilia, hate speech paraphernalia, and more. It includes market promotions and catalogue selling (for instance L. L. Bean)," but not "items that will be of benefit to a normal business operation, such as business supplies, and business-to-business selling";
  • Opinion, Politics, and Religion: "any form of discussion which covers topics related to, but not limited to politics, religion, social values, and other non-work-related topics";
  • Personal Pages: sites "typically related to the personal or recreational activities and interests of the individual author of the page, such as hobbies, socials, personal idiosyncrasies, and more";
  • Self-Help/Health: "anything either medically, organically, or through support that will improve an individual's well-being";
  • Sex: "URLs that reference, discuss, or show pornography, pictures or videos of sex, or sexually oriented material. This will range from all discussion of sex (including for example, sexually transmitted diseases, safe-sex, teen pregnancy), bikini-clad women and men, nudity, soft and hard-core porn, sado-masochism, bestiality, child pornography, and so on";
  • Sports: "any discussions or topics related to sports, including sports teams, sports discussions, sports scores, sports merchandise, and more";
  • Travel: sites discussing "travel and travel-related activities";
  • Usenet News: "sites that provide Web access to Usenet newsgroups";
  • Worthless: "URLs that are neither harmful nor offensive in a business or educational situation, and do not fall into any of the previous categories. The usual content for these is along the lines of useless things";
  • Non-Essential: category reserved for user-selected sites to be blocked on an individual basis.

SmartFilter: Blocking Categories Introduced with Version 3.0

  • Anonymizers/Translators: "Anonymizers enable anonymous Web browsing though an intermediary to prevent unauthorized parties from gathering personal information. However, anonymizers also allow users access to ANY Web page and bypass blocking software. Language translators that provide input of whole URLs for translation also act like anonymizers. Language translators that translate only TEXT are not blocked";

  • Mature: "URLs that sell/advertise products you must be over 18 to buy, such as tobacco, alcohol, and firearms. Items also to be rated as mature are adult humor; provocative but not transparent lingerie photos; detailed text and images explaining sexual problems/products; some adult topics in non-fiction, fiction, poetry, and entertainment; and some usage of profanity. . . . This category also includes URLs showing women or men dressed in provocative or sexually seductive clothing (partially nude or bikini-clad women and men)";
  • MP3 Sites: "URLs that are for downloading, uploading, or trading of MP3 files";
  • Nudity: "URLs that include non-pornographic images of the bare human body. Classic sculpture and paintings, artistic nude photographs, some naturism pictures, and detailed medical illustrations are included";
  • Sex: "URLs that reference, discuss, or show pornography, including pictures, videos, or text of sex acts, or sexually oriented material. This includes soft- and hard-core pornography, sado-masochism, bestiality, and so on"; [note modifications since previous version]
  • Portal Sites: "Web pages that serve as a major starting point for users when they get connected to the Web. Examples are Yahoo, Excite, Lycos, CNET, Microsoft Network, AOL.com, and many large Internet service providers (ISPs). Some services that may be offered by portal sites include a directory of Web sites, a search engine, news, weather information, email, stock quotes, phone and map information, and sometimes Chat rooms, message boards and forums";
  • Webmail: "Web-based e-mail (via HTTP, not IRC)."

SurfWatch: Core Blocking Categories

  • Sexually Explicit: "sexually oriented or erotic full or partial nudity; depictions or images of sexual acts, including animals or other inanimate objects used in a sexual manner; erotic stories and textual descriptions of sexual acts; sexually exploitative or sexually violent text or graphics; bondage, fetishes, genital piercing; adult products including sex toys, CD-ROMs, and videos; adult services including videoconferencing, escort services, and strip clubs"--with the added note that "we do not block on the basis of sexual preference, nor do we block sites regarding sexual health, breast cancer, or sexually transmitted diseases (except in graphic examples)";

  • Drugs/Alcohol: "recipes or instructions for manufacturing or growing illicit substances, including alcohol, for purposes other than industrial usage; sites that glamorize, encourage, or instruct on the use of alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs, or other substances that are illegal to minors; alcohol and tobacco manufacturers' Web sites; sites detailing how to achieve 'legal highs': glue sniffing, misuse of prescription drugs or abuse of other legal substances; sites that make available alcohol, illegal drugs, or tobacco free or for a charge displaying, selling, or detailing the use of drug paraphernalia"; this category is not intended to encompass "sites discussing medicinal drug use, industrial hemp use, or public debate on the issue of legalizing certain drugs" or "sites sponsored by a public or private agency that provides educational information on drug use";
  • Gambling: "online gambling or lottery web sites that invite the use of real money; sites that provide phone numbers, online contacts or advice for placing wagers, participating in lotteries, or gambling real money; newsgroups or sites discussing number running; virtual casinos and offshore gambling ventures; sports picks and betting pools";
  • Violence: "sites portraying or describing physical assault against humans, animals, or institutions; depictions of torture, mutilation, gore, or horrific death; sites advocating suicide or self-mutilation; instructions or recipes for making bombs or other harmful or destructive devices; sites that make available guns, artillery, other weapons, or poisonous substances; excessive use of profanity or obscene gesticulation"; SurfWatch does not, however, prohibit sites containing information on "news, historical, or press incidents that may include the above criteria (except in graphic examples)";
  • Hate Speech: "sites advocating or inciting degradation or attack of specified populations or institutions based on associations such as religion, race, nationality, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation; sites which promote a political or social agenda which is supremacist in nature and exclusionary of others based on their race, religion, nationality, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation; Holocaust revision/denial sites; coercion or recruitment in a gang or cult." SurfWatch defines a "gang" as "a group whose primary activities are the commission of felonious criminal acts, which has a common name or identifying sign or symbol, and whose members individually or collectively engage in criminal activity in the name of the group. A "cult" is "a group whose followers have been deceptively and manipulatively recruited and retained through undue influence such that their followers' personalities and behavior are altered." In a cult, according to SurfWatch's definition, "Leadership is all-powerful, ideology is totalistic and the will of the individual is subordinate to the group," and the group, furthermore, "[s]ets itself outside of society." SurfWatch excludes from this blocking category Web pages providing information on "news, historical, or press incidents that may include the above criteria (except in graphic examples)."

We-Blocker: Blocking Categories

  • Pornography: "[a]ny site that contains either graphic or text depicting, describing or otherwise endorsing explicit or implicit sexual acts, sex crimes, deviant sexual behavior, rape, sexual products or services, sexually provocative attire, and/or gratuitous total or partial nudity";

  • Violence: "[a]ny site portraying or promoting injury, death or torture of human beings or animals, gratuitous blood and gore, cult or ritual violence, suicide, and /or malicious property destruction. In addition, any site containing instructions on how to carry out such violent acts, and illegal information regarding weapons will be placed in this category";
  • Drugs and Alcohol: "[a]ny site encouraging or glamorizing the use of alcohol, tobacco, or illicit drugs, instructions for manufacturing illegal substances, references to drug paraphernalia, "drug culture", and promoting/selling alcohol and/or tobacco to minors";
  • Gambling: "[a]ny site that promotes or practices gambling involving the use of actual money, illegal or otherwise, in the form of on-line casinos, lotteries, or sports betting";
  • Hate Speech: "[a]ny site that contains defamatory speech or activity directed towards a particular group based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or social status, including sites by individuals and militant extremist groups";
  • Adult Subjects: "[a]ny site containing profane and vulgar language, expletives, revealing attire, adult situations, criminal activity, and any other subject generally considered inappropriate for children";
  • Weaponry: "[a]ny site containing legal information regarding the purchase, use, design and manufacturing of firearms, ammunition, military equipment, explosive devices and martial arts or manually operated weapons. (Note: Illegal information regarding weapons will be placed under the violence category.)"

WebSENSE: Pre-Version 4.0 Blocking Categories

  • Abortion Advocacy: sites containing "[a]bortion advocacy," material, "pro or con";

  • Activist Groups: "[o]rganizations with a cause. This is a broad category that can include environmental groups and any other activist group not covered under other categories," with the added note, "No special exceptions are made for Freedom of Speech activist sites";
  • Adult Entertainment: sites containing "[f]ull or partial nudity of individuals. This might include strip clubs, lingerie, adult-oriented chat rooms, erotica, sex toys, light adult humor and literature, escort services, password-verification sites, prostitution, and so forth. Sexually explicit language describing acts that would fit into this category are also categorized here";
  • Alcohol/Tobacco: "[a]ny site promoting, containing, or selling liquor or tobacco products, or their accessories";
  • Alternative Journals: "[o]nline equivalents to supermarket tabloids, or non-mainstream periodicals. . . . This category may contain materials that are sexual in nature";
  • Cult/New Age: sites "[p]romoting or containing information on witchcraft, black arts, voodoo, spirituality, horoscopes, alternative religions, cults, UFOs. All religions not covered under the Religion category";
  • Drugs: "[p]romotion of illegal drugs and/or drug culture information, or drug-related contraband," according to United States drug laws;
  • Entertainment: "[s]ites promoting or containing information on movies, radio, television, books, theater, sedentary hobbies, magazines (non-business related), music, pets, humor/jokes, and sites containing downloadable software of an entertaining nature." "Computer magazines containing technical information," however, "are not included in this category";
  • Gambling: "[a]ny site that promotes gambling or allows online gambling";
  • Games: sites containing "[i]nformation about or advocacy of board games, electronic games, video games, computer games, or online games. Includes both hardware and software";
  • Gay/Lesbian Lifestyles: sites containing "[i]nformation about gay and lesbian lifestyles that does not contain sexually explicit images or text. Dating services and shopping sites that cater to gay or lesbian customers";
  • Hacking: "[a]ny site promoting questionable or illegal use of equipment and/or software to hack passwords, create viruses, gain access to other computers, and so on. Does not include security information sites";
  • Illegal: "[p]romotion of information describing how to commit non-violent, illegal activity," as defined by United States law, "such as drunk driving, mail fraud, picking locks, white or blue collar crime of a non-technical nature";
  • Job Search: "[p]ersonal job/career search sites";
  • Militancy: "[a]ny site promoting or containing information on militia operations, terrorist activity, war, riots, rebellion groups. Advocates of violence to overthrow government";
  • Personals/Dating: sites geared for "[p]eople meeting other people, personal ads, mail order brides. Sites combining heterosexual and gay personals on same site are included here. (Dating and personals sites that accommodate only gay and lesbian lifestyles are categorized under Gay/Lesbian Lifestyles)";
  • Politics: sites with content that amounts to "[p]olitical advocacy of any type. Any site promoting or containing information on any political party, pro or con. This includes all registered and otherwise officially recognized political parties. Excludes all official government sites";
  • Racism/Hate: sites promoting "[e]thnic impropriety, hate speech, anti-Semitism, racial clubs/conflict";
  • Religion: sites devoted to "[r]eligious advocacy, pro and con. Limited to: Atheism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Shintoism";
  • Sex 1: sites depicting "[h]eterosexual activity involving one or two persons, hard-core adult humor and literature. Sexually explicit language describing acts that would fit into this category are also categorized here";

  • Sex 2: sites depicting "[h]eterosexual acts involving more than two people, homosexual and bisexual acts, orgies, swinging, bestiality, sadism/masochism, child pornography, fetishes and related hardcore adult humor and literature. Sexually explicit language describing acts that would fit into this category are also categorized here";
  • Shopping: sites allowing for "[c]onsumer-oriented online shopping. Includes real estate shopping. Excludes sites that sell sex toys, weapons, alcohol, tobacco, vehicles and vehicle parts or travel services. . . . Note: The entire site is screened if the intent of the site is selling";
  • Sports: sites dedicated to "[s]ports and sports-related recreation. Team or individual activities, indoor or outdoor, with a physical component. For example, body building, hiking, camping, and football";
  • Tasteless: "[h]ard-to-stomach sites, including offensive, worthless or useless sites, grotesque depictions caused by 'acts of God'";
  • Travel: "[s]ites promoting or containing information on travel, leisure, vacation spots, transportation to vacation destinations";
  • User Defined: "[s]ites that are not listed in the Websense Master Database, but have been set up for screening with the Custom URLs feature";
  • Vehicles: "[a]ny site promoting vehicles, including: cars, vans, trucks, boats/water craft, ATVs, trains, planes and any other personal vehicles and vehicle parts. Vehicles in this category do not carry weapons";
  • Violence: "[a]ny site promoting or containing information on violent acts, murder, rape, violent criminal activity, gangs, gross depictions caused by acts of man, excess profanity";
  • Weapons: "[a]ny site promoting or containing information on guns, knives, missiles, bombs, or other weapons";
  • and Web Chat: "[c]hat sites via http protocol, chat rooms (non-IRC), forums and discussion groups. Home pages devoted to IRC."

WebSENSE: Current Blocking Categories

1. Abortion Advocacy

Sites with neutral or balanced discussion of the issues are classified under the main category "Abortion Advocacy."
1.1 Pro-life Sites
1.2 Pro-choice Sites

2. Activist/Advocacy Groups
Sites sponsored by or devoed to organizations that promote change or reform in public policy, public opinion, social practice, economic activities and relationships. Excludes commercially sponsored sites (4, 13, 21), sites dedicated to electoral politics or legislation (10.2) or to the abortion issue (1), sites advocating hate or violence (16, 19, 28).

3. Adult Material

3.1. Adult Content. Sites featuring full or partial nudity reflecting or establishing a sexually oriented context, but not sexual activity (3.3); sexual paraphernalia; erotica and other literature featuring, or discussions of, sexual matters falling short of pornographic; sex-oriented businesses such as clubs, nightclubs, escort services, password/verification sites. Includes sites supporting online purchase of such goods and services.
3.2 Nudity. Sites offering depictions of nude or seminude human forms, singly or in groups, not overtly sexual in intent or effect.
3.3 Sex. Sites depicting or graphically describing sexual acts or activity, including exhibitionism.
3.4 Sex Education. Sites offering information on sex and sexuality, with no pornographic intent.
3.5 Lingerie & Swimsuit. Sites offering views of models in suggestive but not lewd costume; suggestive female breast nudity. Also classic "cheesecake" art and photography.

4. Business and Economy

Sites sponsored by or devoted to individual business firms, but not supporting ecommerce (21) and not firms engaged in computer or Internet businesses (13) or the sale of alcohol or tobacco (22.1), travel services (26), vehicles (27), or weaponry (29). Includes commercial real estate, but not residential real estate (21.2).
4.1 Financial Data & Services. Sites offering news and quotations on stocks, bonds, and other investment vehicles, investment advice; but not online trading. Includes banks, credit unions, credit cards, and life insurance.

5. Drugs (as characterized by U.S. law)

5.1 Abused Medications. Sites that discuss or promote or provide information about prohibited, scheduled, or otherwise controlled or regulated drugs and their abuse; also, paraphernalia associated with such use and abuse.
5.2 Prescribed Medications. Sites providing information about approved drugs and their medical use.
5.3 Supplements/Unregulated compounds. Sites providing information about or promoting the use of chemicals not regulated by the FDA (as naturally occurring compounds, for example).

6. Education

6.1 Educational Institutions. Sites sponsored by schools and other educational facilities or by faculty or alumni groups, or that relate to educational events and activities.
6.2 Cultural Institutions. Sites sponsored by museums, galleries, theatres (but not movie theatres), and other cultural institutions.

7. Entertainment

Sites that provide information about or promote motion pictures, non-news radio and television, books, humor, music, and magazines (other than those devoted primarily to adult material (3), business (4), electronic games (9), information technology (13), alcohol and tobacco (22.1), health (11), hobbies (22.5), sports (24), travel (26), vehicles (27), or weaponry (29)).
7.1 MP3. Sites that support downloading of mp3 files or that serve as directories of such sites.

8. Gambling

Sites that provide information about or promote gambling or that support online gambling. Risk of losing money possible.

9. Games

Sites that provide information about or promote electronic games, video games, computer games, role-playing games, or online games, but not board or card games (22.5); also sites that support or host online games. Includes sweepstakes and giveaways.

10. Government

Sites sponsored by government branches or agencies; all levels of government (i.e., *.gov)
10.1 Military. Sites sponsored by military branches or agencies (i.e., *.mil)
10.2 Political Groups. Sites sponsored by or providing information about political parties and interest groups focused on elections or legislation.

11. Health

Sites that provide information or advice on personal health or medical services, health insurance, procedures, or devices, but not drugs (5). Includes self-help groups.

12. Illegal/Questionable

Sites that provide instruction in or promote crime (except computer crime (13.1)) or unethical or dishonest behavior or evasion of prosecution therefore.

13. Information Technology

Sites sponsored by or providing information on computer- and Internet-industry firms.
13.1 Hacking. Sites providing information on or promoting illegal or questionable access to or use of communications equipment and/or software.
13.2 Proxy Avoidance Systems. Sites that provide information on how to bypass proxy server features or to gain access to URLs in any way that bypasses the proxy server.
13.3 Search Engines & Portals. Sites that support searching the Web, news groups, or indices or directories thereof.
13.4. Web Hosting. Sites of organizations that provide hosting services, or top-level domain pages of Web communities.
13.5 URL Translation Sites. Sites that offer online translation of URLs including those that offer online language translation of Web sites by submitting the URL of the target site.

14. Internet Communications

14.1 Web chat. Sites that host Web Chat services, Chat sites via HTTP, on-IRC chat rooms. Home pages devoted to IRC. Sites that offer forums or discussion groups.
14.2 Web-based Email. Sites that host Web-based email. Any Web based email service, either browser or software based.

15. Job Search

Sites that offer information on or support seeking employment.

16. Militancy/Extremist

Sites that offer information on or promote or are sponsored by groups advocating antigovernment beliefs or action.

17. News & Media

Sites that offer current or real-time news, including those sponsored by newspapers, magazines, trade and academic journals, radio and television stations and networks, wire services; but not current financial quotes (4.1) or sports (24).
17.1 Alternative Journals - On-line equivalents to supermarket tabloids or non-mainstream periodicals Note: This category may contain material which is sexual in nature.

18. Premium Group 1

Premium categories available with Websense Enterprise, v4.2. Default category set is "monitor-only" unless purchased.
18.1 Advertisements. Sites that provide advertising servers.
18.2 Freeware/Software Download. Sites whose primary function is to provide freeware software downloads.
18.3 Instant Messaging. Sites that enable instant messaging
18.4 Online Brokerage & Trading. Sites that support active trading of securities and management of investments.
18.5 Pay-to-Surf Sites. Sites that pay for people to surf or pay to email.

19. Racism/Hate

Sites that promote the identification of racial groups, the denigration or subjection of groups (racially identified or otherwise), or the superiority of any group.

20. Religion

20.1 Non-traditional Religions. Sites that provide information on or promote religions not listed in 20.2 and on other unconventional religious or quasi-religious subjects, including cults.
20.2 Traditional Religions. Sites that provide information on or promote Buddhism, Baha'i, Christianity, Christian Science, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Mormonism, Shinto, and Sikhism; also atheism.

21. Shopping

Sites that support online purchasing of consumer goods but not including sexual paraphernalia (3.1), investments (4.1), computer software or hardware (13), supplements (5.3), alcohol and tobacco (22.1), travel services (26), vehicles and parts (27), or weaponry (29). Included are sites exclusively devoted to selling sports or religious goods.
21.1 Internet Auction. Sites that support the offering and purchasing of goods between individuals.
21.2 Real Estate. Sites that provide information on renting, buying and selling residential real estate.

22. Society and Lifestyle

Sites that provide information on matters of daily life, excluding sex (3), entertainment (7), jobs (15), sports (24), and those topics covered in subsections below.
22.1 Alcohol & Tobacco. Sites that provide information on, promote, or support the sale of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, and any associated paraphernalia. Excludes self-help groups like AA, which are in Health.
22.2 Gay & Lesbian Issues. Sites that provide information on or cater to gay and lesbian lifestyles, including those supporting online shopping; but not sexually oriented (3.1, 3.3) or issue-oriented (2).
22.3 Personals & Dating. Sites that promote interpersonal relationships, excluding those of exclusively gay or lesbian appeal.
22.4. Restaurants & Dining. Sites that list, review, advertise, or promote food, catering, or dining services.
22.5 Hobbies. Sites that provide information on or promote private and largely sedentary pastimes, but not electronic, video, or online games (9).

23. Special Events

Sites devoted to a current event that requires separate categorization owing to objectionable content, bandwidth demand, or potential effect on productivity. Some such sites will disappear; others will be reviewed after 90 days for possible reclassification.

24. Sports

Sites that provide information on or promote sports, active games, and recreation.

25. Tasteless

Sites that cannot be categorized elsewhere but offer offensive, grotesque, frightening, lurid, material with no redeeming value.

26. Travel

Sites that provide information on or promote various travel-related services and destinations, including those that support online purchase or reservations.

27. Vehicles

Sites that provide information on or promote vehicles, including those that support online purchase of vehicles or parts.

28. Violence

Sites that provide information on or promote violent activity. Sites containing excessive profanity may be classified here if not under Tasteless (25).

29. Weapons

Sites that provide information on, promote, or support the sale of weapons and related items.