MIT student David Sheets has been delving into the censorship software used by the Mayor of Boston to restrict access to the city's free WiFi network. It's incredibly badly designed and configured — as David says, "The engineers or systems administrators who chose and implemented this system should be fired and Mayor Menino should think long and hard about his stance on free speech."
Disturbingly, I could not access many government web sites that inform me of my rights and responsibilities as a citizen, the punishments for various crimes, or available government services. I attempted to access both the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and the Drug Enforcement Agency and was denied access. I could not read about drug crime penalties or how different substances are controlled. I was denied access to information about what law enforcement officers can and cannot demand of me and what the government does to protect children from abuse.Additionally, the phrase lists in use block many internet dating sites such as match.com, OkCupid, Yahoo Personals, and Plenty of Fish. Interestingly, eHarmony and DateHookup are not blocked.
