ASA CIPA Content Filtering FAQ

[CIPA Policy] | [CIPA Agreement]


  1. What is CIPA?
  2. What must my school system or library do in order to be "CIPA Compliant"?
  3. How does the ASA Content Filtering Solution address CIPA Compliance?
  4. What filtering product is ASA using to provide this service
  5. How much does it cost?
  6. How does it work?
  7. Why didn't ASA use (insert your favorite filtering software) instead of 8e6?
  8. What are the different classifications of web sites that can be filtered?
  9. What if a site is NOT filtered that should be?
  10. What if a site IS filtered that should not be?
  11. Do I have to use the ASA solution or can I do my own thing?
  12. Can I use the ASA solution in conjunction with my own solution?
  13. How can I specify what types of sites will be filtered for my individual system?
  14. How can I bypass the filter?

  1. What is CIPA?

    Please see http://www.sl.universalservice.org/reference/CIPA.asp for details.

    The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) requires that schools and libraries implement Internet safety policies in order to receive federal technology funding such as E-Rate discounts. This Internet safety policy must include filtering or another "technology protection measure" that blocks access to "visual depictions" of obscene material, child pornography and material that is "harmful to minors".


  2. What must my school system or library do in order to be "CIPA Compliant"?

    1. Implement a "Technology Protection Measure" (e.g. filtering software)

      A Technology Protection Measure is a specific technology that blocks or filters Internet access. It must protect against access by adults and minors to visual depictions that are obscene, child pornography, or - with respect to use of computers with Internet access by minors - harmful to minors. It may be disabled for adults engaged in bona fide research or other lawful purposes. For schools, the policy must also include monitoring the online activities of minors by means determined by the local system.

    2. Design and implement an "Internet Safety Policy"

      The Internet Safety Policy must address the following issues:
      1. Access by minors to inappropriate matter on the Internet and World Wide Web;
      2. The safety and security of minors when using electronic mail, chat rooms, and other forms of direct electronic communications;
      3. Unauthorized access, including so-called "hacking," and other unlawful activities by minors online;
      4. Unauthorized disclosure, use, and dissemination of personal information regarding minors; and
      5. Measures designed to restrict minors' access to materials harmful to minors.

    3. Public Notice and Hearing

      4. The authority with responsibility for administration of the school or library must provide reasonable public notice and hold at least one public hearing to address a proposed Technology Protection Measure and Internet Safety Policy.

  3. How does the ASA Content Filtering Solution address CIPA Compliance?

    In order for a school system or library to be "CIPA Compliant" the steps explained by CIPA and briefly highlighted above must be followed. Simply utilizing ASA's content filtering option does NOT make your organization "CIPA Compliant".

    Any ASA client for no additional charge may use the ASA content filtering service as the "technology protection measure" defined in the CIPA. The decision to use or not use ASA's filtering solution is entirely at the discretion of the individual school system or library.


  4. What filtering product is ASA using to provide this service?

    After careful review of several products, ASA acquired 8e6™ to provide content filtering.

    The web site for this product may be found at: http://www.8e6.com/


  5. How much does it cost?

    There is no cost for institutions that use ASA as their Internet Service Provider.


  6. How does it work?

    8e6™ provides web and ftp filtering through a sidescan technology that does not depend on the use of proxy servers and scales well for use in very large networks. Classification of sites is performed through the use of neural net analysis, review of linked content, and human review. Updated filter lists are downloaded daily.


  7. Why didn't ASA use (insert your favorite filtering software) instead of 8e6?

    The filtering requirements for a statewide network are broader than those of an individual school, library, or school system. Typical content filters require that web traffic be cached or at least redirected through a computer running content filtering software. Although this method is acceptable for individual institutions where relatively small amounts of traffic are being examined, such redirection can potentially slow down Internet access for a large state network.

    8e6™ was chosen for many reasons, but the primary two criteria that influenced our decision were scalability and cost. Because sidescan filtering is used instead of proxy methods, use of the product does not impact the overall performance of the network.


  8. What are the different classifications of web sites that can be filtered?

    The categories recognized by the filter are listed below. For a description of each of these categories go here: http://www.8e6.com/products/datab/pd_86db_categories.htm

    Adult Content
    Child Pornography
    Explicit Art
    Obscene/Tasteless
    Pornography/Adult Content
    R-rated

    Bandwidth
    Image Server/Image Search Engines
    Internet Radio
    Peer-to-Peer (P2P) File Sharing
    Streaming Media
    VoIP
    Web-based storage

    Illegal/Questionable
    Criminal Skills
    Dubious/Unsavory
    Hate & Discrimination
    Illegal Drugs
    School Cheating
    Terrorist/ Militant/ Extremist

    Information Technology
    Adware
    Banner/Web Ads
    Free Hosts
    Freeware/Shareware
    Information Technology
    Internet Service Providers
    Portals
    Remote Access
    Search Engines
    Web Hosts
    Web-based Newsgroups
    Web-based Proxies/Anonymizers

    Internet Communication
    Chat
    Instant Messaging (IM)
    Message Boards
    Online Greeting Cards
    Web logs/ Personal Pages
    Web-based E-mail
    Online Communities

    Miscellaneous
    Domain Landing
    Intranet/ Internal Servers
    Invalid Web pages
    Reviewed/ Miscellaneous

    Security
    Hacking
    Malicious Code/Virus
    Phishing
    Spyware

    Business/Investments
    Employment
    Financial Institution
    General Business
    Online Trading/Brokerage
    Real Estate

    Community/Organizations
    Community Organizations
    Local Community

    Education
    Education
    Educational Games
    Online Classes
    Reference

    Entertainment
    Art
    Comics
    Entertainment
    Gambling
    Games
    Humor
    Kids
    Movies & Television
    Music Appreciation
    Restaurants/Dining
    Theater

    Government/ Law/ Politics
    Government
    Legal
    Military Appreciation
    Military-Official
    Political Opinion

    Health/Fitness
    Fitness
    Health/ Medical
    Holistic

    News/Reports
    News
    Sports
    Weather/ Traffic

    Religion/Beliefs
    Paranormal
    Religion
    Religious Opinion
    Cults

    Shopping
    Online Auction
    Shopping

    Society/ Lifestyles
    Alcohol
    Animals/ Pets
    Books & Literature/ Writings
    Dating/Personals
    Fashion
    Lifestyle
    Outdoor Recreation
    Recreation
    Self-Defense
    Social Opinion
    Tobacco
    Weapons

    Travel/Events
    Tickets
    Travel
    Vehicles


  9. What if a site is NOT filtered that should be?

    The 8e6™ filtering software automatically reviews unclassified sites and updates the filtering lists. This review and update process can take up to 72 hours in some cases. In order to expedite the process, Technology Coordinators can manually submit sites for review to 8e6™ via the following URL: http://www.m86security.com/support/submit-a-site.asp

    If a site is not filtered within 72 hours of initial access or within 48 hours of a manual request for review, technology coordinators, superintendents, or network managers can manually add the site to the filter via the management interface or request an immediate block via the ASA helpdesk.


  10. What if a site IS filtered that should not be?

    Technology Coordinators can manually submit sites for review to 8e6™ via the following URL: http://www.m86security.com/support/submit-a-site.asp. Technology coordinators, superintendents, or network managers can manually remove the site from the filter via the management interface or by contacting the ASA helpdesk.


  11. Do I have to use the ASA solution or can I do my own thing?

    Use of the ASA filtering solution is completely voluntary. If you decide to utilize the ASA solution, please read this FAQ thoroughly and be aware that although there is no charge for the filtering, there are limitations with this filtering solution that may not exist with other systems. If your school system requires more flexibility, you should consider using another product.


  12. Can I use the ASA solution in conjunction with my own solution?

    Yes. Many ASA clients have expressed interest in maintaining their existing content filtering solution while also using our system. It would be possible, for example, to keep some existing systems for their reporting and monitoring capabilities but cancel an update subscription. In this scenario the legacy system would catch, classify, filter, and report all old sites that are blocked, while the ASA solution would filter all new sites.


  13. How can I specify what types of sites will be filtered for my individual system?

    Each school system can develop their own profile of categories that they wish to block. School systems also have the option to manage their own profiles. For more details contact the ASA helpdesk.


  14. How can I bypass the filter?

    According to CIPA this override can only be activated "to enable access for bona fide research or other lawful purposes". CIPA also states that this should only be "during use by an adult".

    Please note that if your site uses Network Address Translation (NAT), we will not be able to override filtering for correctly classified sites as such an override would disable filtering for your entire site.

    For specific information on the process that must be followed to bypass content filtering, please refer to the "ASA Content Filtering Policies and Procedures" document found at http://www.asc.edu/html/CIPApolicy.shtml . School systems can request individual override accounts by contacting the ASA helpdesk.