The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is a federal law that addresses concerns about access in schools and libraries to the Internet and other information. For any school or library that receives discounts for Internet access or for internal connections, CIPA imposes certain requirements.
Another legal concern for educators is lawsuits brought by concerned parents and organizations. Installing Websense software on your network limits legal liability by blocking inappropriate and objectionable material. Failure to mitigate inbound threats like spam and malware as well as prevent outbound leaks of student data or employee information can result in exposure of students to child predators, reduction in federal funding due not non-compliance with CIPA, and potential lawsuits.
Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA)
- Under CIPA, schools and libraries subject to CIPA do not receive the discounts offered by the "E-rate" program (discounts that make access to the Internet affordable to schools and libraries) unless they certify that they have certain Internet safety measures in place. These include measures to block or filter pictures that: (a) are obscene, (b) contain child pornography, or (c) when computers with Internet access are used by minors, are harmful to minors.
- Schools subject to CIPA are required to adopt a policy to monitor online activities of minors.
- Schools and libraries subject to CIPA are required to adopt a policy addressing: (a) access by minors to inappropriate matter on the Internet and the Web; (b) the safety and security of minors when using electronic mail, chat rooms, and other forms of direct electronic communications; (c) unauthorized access, including so-called "hacking," and other unlawful activities by minors online; (d) unauthorized disclosure, use, and dissemination of personal information regarding minors; and (e) restricting minors' access to materials harmful to them. CIPA does not require the tracking of Internet use by minors or adults.
(Source: http://www.fcc.gov/)
How Websense Helps Schools and Libraries Comply with CIPA:
- Obscenity and Pornography Filtering – Allows schools and libraries to manage Internet access to over 90 URL categories including Racism and Hate, Adult Material, Hacking and other topics pertinent to CIPA.
- Best-of-Breed Web Filtering – The most accurate and up-to-date filtering database with over 36 million URLs.
- Filtering of Search Engine Images – Use safe-search to filter inappropriate images that can be found in search engine query results.
- Blocking of Spyware, Malicious Mobile Code, and Other Security Threats – Sites with worms, spyware, phishing, and other threats can be blocked, helping to meet The CIPA requirements for protection of a minor's personal information.
- Monitoring – Reporting Tools offer many different ways to monitor and report on the online activities of minors.
- Policy Management Per User or Per Group – Schools and libraries can customize their Internet policies based on users or groups, so policies can be set based on age or needs.
The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is a federal law that addresses concerns about access in schools and libraries to the Internet and other information. For any school or library that receives discounts for Internet access or for internal connections, CIPA imposes certain requirements.
In the UK, Websense is accredited with approved Internet Filtering Product certification by the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta). As an approved supplier, Websense is certified to provide schools with Web security and Web filtering solutions in line with national strategies and regulations on safe Internet use in education.
