To their consternation, American Family Association officials have been unable to persuade the oversight committee of the Learning Company's CyberPatrol Internet filter to remove the conservative Christian organization's Web site from its CyberNot list of blocked URLs. CyberPatrol officials recently blocked access to AFA for what they deem to be intolerant content regarding gays and lesbians.
The committee's June 9 decision came after a teleconference where AFA Executive Assistant Buddy Smith defended his organization's opposition to "public" homosexuality and the gay rights movement. In a May 28 alert posted to the Politech listserv, Smith had offered in AFA's defense samples of the Web site's content, including one statement that linked "indifference or neutrality toward the homosexual rights movement" to society's devolution "into an age of godlessness."
Despite the ongoing block, however, AFA remains convinced that Internet filters are "an absolute must," Smith told the New York Times June 11.
Posted June 22, 1998.