Managing Exposure to Online Pornography Paul Laughton University of Johannesburg Department of Information and Knowledge Management mwlaughton@iafrica.com Prof Chris Rensleigh University of Johannesburg Department of Information and Knowledge Management cr@rau.ac.za 1 Overview of presentation 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 2 Statistics on online pornography Pornography by definition Pornography as an online risk Content filtering solutions Acceptable use policy (AUP) Conclusion References Statistics on the pornography industry • It is estimated that the porn industry is worth $57 billion. • This comprises of: Adult videos ($20 billion) • • • • • • Escort Services ($11 billion) Magazines ($ 7.5 billion) Sex Clubs ($ 5 billion) Phone Sex ($ 4.5 billion) Cable & Pay Per View ($ 2.5 billion) Internet ($ 2.5 billion) • The US porn industry generates more revenue then ABC, CBS and NBC networks put together (6.2 billion) 3 Statistics on online pornography • Websites containing pornographic content make up for 12% of total websites, that is 4.2 million websites. • 25% of daily search engine requests are related to pornography. • 8% of emails sent daily contain pornographic content. • Gnutella (P2P application) has 116 thousand daily requests for child pornography. • In September 2003 more then 32 million individuals visited pornographic websites. • According to Dr. Weiss (2000) sex is the most searched topic on the Internet. 4 What implications does this have on your organisation? • 30% of Web surfing is not work related. • 70% of pornography downloads occur between 9am-5pm (SexTracker) • 20% of employees examined by the Secure Computing Corporation (2005) visited pornographic websites while at work. 5 Pornography by definition • What is pornography? • Is all content of a pornographic nature illegal? 6 Pornography by definition • The word pornography has evolved considerably from the Greek language. In Late Greek the word 'pornographos' was used to describe writing about prostitutes and encounters with prostitutes (Dictionary.com 2004). • The Merriam Webster Dictionary of Law (1996) defines pornography as material that depicts erotic behaviour and is intended to cause sexual excitement. • The Webster New World Encyclopedia (1992) defines pornography as obscene literature, pictures, photos or films of no academic merit, intended only to arouse sexual desires. 7 Pornography by definition • The Webster’s New World Encyclopedia and the Merrian Webster Dictionary of Law focus on different themes. • The Webster’s New World Encyclopedia focuses on “obscene” content which is the lowest form of pornography. • While the Merrian Webster Dictionary of Law focus on “erotic” content which is seen by some psychologists more acceptable form of pornography. • The problem is that there are many forms and definitions of pornography. 8 Pornography by definition The best way to get clarity on a definition of pornography is to identify the different forms. These are often misinterpreted by academics and used in the wrong context. 9 Pornography by definition • Erotic : Of or concerning sexual love and desire. Tending to arouse sexual desire. Dominated by sexual love or desire (The American Heritage Dictionary 2000). • This content may not actively depict people satisfying their sexual desires and may only play on stimuli that suggest sexual interaction • Often content of this nature is mistakably labeled as obscene, by those with conservative views. • Content of erotic nature is dominantly accepted by adults, and can be viewed as artistic or creative in certain cases. 10 Pornography by definition • Another form of pornography is obscenity. This is illegal and contains disturbing media which can have a negative effect on a persons mental state. For something to be classified as obscene the average person must find that the material (Lectric Library Law 2002): • must appeal to predominately prurient (having or encouraging unhealthy sexual curiosity) • predicts or describes sexual conduct in an offensive way • lacks serious literacy, artistic, political or scientific value. 11 Pornography by definition • The material on a whole must be viewed and decided whether on the whole the total effect of the material would fit into the description of obscenity. • Classic examples of such content would include the like of bestiality and child pornography. • This material is of a very sensitive nature and can only be classified as desirable by few. 12 Pornography by definition • Not all forms of pornography are illegal to those over the age of 18 years. • Only obscene content is illegal. • But this does not mean that people in the work environment are able to access pornography at work so long as it is not illegal. • Any form of pornographic content presents a risk in the work place even if it is not a criminal offence. 13 Pornography as an online risk Access to pornography can pose the following problems for an organisation: 1. 2. 3. 14 Legal liability Loss of production to non-work related content Loss of bandwidth. Pornography as an online risk 1. Legal liability Employees can be directly or indirectly liable for sexual harassment based on a hostile work environment. • Direct liability is classified when the employee’s supervisors sends pornographic content that is perceived to be offensive by the employee. • If the wrongful conduct is directed at the employer as he/she is responsible for the conduct of the supervisor (Overly 2002). 15 Pornography as an online risk • Indirect liability results when the employer fails to restrict or correct activity that creates a hostile working environment. • This is commonly what happens to employer’s who do not have a content filtering solution as well as an effective acceptable use policy (AUP) in place. It is necessary to take the right steps to prevent such liability. 16 Pornography as an online risk 2. Loss of productivity • Around 20% of employees view content of pornographic nature during work hours. • One in five men and one in eight women admitted to using their work’s Internet as the main channel for accessing sexually explicit material (Secure Computing Corporation 2005). 17 Pornography as an online risk A survey conducted by Valt.com revealed how often employees used the corporate Internet facilities to surf non work related sites (Witzke 2002): • • • • 18 34.9% 38.1% 14.6% 12.4% claimed claimed claimed claimed “a few times a week” “a few times a day” “I surf the Web constantly” “never, that’s unethical”. Pornography as an online risk 3. Loss of bandwidth • In some organisations network surveys have found that P2P file sharing networks (containing pornography) have been responsible for consuming up to 80% of the bandwidth. • This can have a crippling effect on the networking resources. 19 Content filtering solutions • What can be done to prevent unwanted access to pornographic content? • What control mechanisms can be put into place to limit access to pornographic content? 20 Content filtering solutions The following two control mechanisms can be put into place to limit users from accessing pornographic content these are: • • 21 Content filtering Implementation of Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). Content filtering solutions • Content filtering is an active control mechanism which physically restricts user from accessing pornographic content. • Content filtering parameters are setup to enforce the AUP of an organisation. • Content filtering allows an organisation to determine exactly what content will be tolerated and what will be restricted. 22 Content Filtering Four commonly used forms of content filtering are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 23 Keyword filtering URL blocking Content rating systems Walled garden approach Content Filtering 1. Keyword filtering This system uses a list of objectionable terms, blocking pages and e-mails containing words that are considered to be indecent in nature. This is the least sophisticated but requires careful consideration when setting up. Problems are created when words that are similar to those that are meant to be blocked like “Sussex” are blocked. The context that the words are used in are not taken into consideration. 24 Content Filtering 2. URL blocking (Website blocking) Software filtering companies maintain databases of unethical Websites which are often sorted into different categories allowing user to filter out content they see as unnecessary in the work environment. This updates the filtering software and prevents access to such Websites. Unfortunately this approach requires constant updating from both the software vendor and the users of this filtering solution. 25 26 Content Filtering 2. URL blocking (Website blocking) With thousands of Websites being developed every day it is a very demanding task to keep ahead with the times. One of the most comprehensive database held by a content filtering software vendor is Surfcontrol. Surfcontrol owns the world’s largest content database which contains over 6 million Websites in 40 different categories. This represents over 900 million Web pages in 65 different languages with an average of 35000 Web sites being added each week. 27 Content Filtering 3. Content rating systems The two most active organisations that are involved in the rating of content on the WWW are: • Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS) • Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA). These organisations are based on a system of self regulation. This requires publishers of content to rate their Websites in line with predetermined parameters. 28 Content Filtering 3. Content rating systems Problems occur when parties involved are not honest in their rating of their Website. There is no higher power enforcing correct and honest rating of their content. This rating system relies on honesty and trust making it susceptible to corruption. 29 Content Filtering 4. Walled garden approach This is the fairest and most reliable of all forms of content filtering systems. User are only allowed access to predetermined Websites. This ensures that the Websites where access is granted to has been checked and approved by IT management and conforms to the AUP of the organisation. This is however time consuming to setup and review all the Websites that user are looking to access. 30 Content Filtering 4. Walled garden approach This form of content filtering is very restrictive and often leaves valuable information resources out. Organisations need to be very careful when deciding to take this approach as it can have a negative effect on employees who may feel that the control is too strong. This can lead to a lack of trust. 31 Content Filtering 5. Hybrid content filtering solution Often content filtering solutions do not fit only in some of the categories mention but are a combination of different filtering solutions. This can be classified as a “hybrid content filtering solution”. 32 Content Filtering Future development • Image filters: This software can accurately depict the nature of images, allowing for detection of images of suspect or pornographic nature. • This can be integrated into content filtering and email management software. • Image Filter is one such company offering image filtering solution that works along side the html tags of the image to offer real time image filtering. 33 34 Acceptable Use Policies (AUP’s) Another form of control that needs to be put into place is an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). This is a passive form of control that is put in place to protect employer as well as the employee. 35 Acceptable Use Policies (AUP’s) Every organization, whether an academic institution profit or non-profit, needs to have an AUP to protect themselves. Sometimes the AUP is also referred to as an Internet use policy (IUP) that gives basic guidelines for the use of online communications whether on the Internet or through the use of the organizations local intranet. A concrete policy is needed to define conditions of Internet use. 36 Acceptable Use Policies (AUP’s) • Organizations can be held legally responsible for any illegal content accessed if they do not have a policy in place. • Many organizations do not enforce these policies or regularly remind users of the policies in place. • It is important that these policies are made available to employees. 37 Acceptable Use Policies (AUP’s) Ways to make sure your employees understand and are aware of the AUP in place: • Make employees sign an agreement ensuring they will adhere to the AUP in place. • Place a copy of the AUP in a place where employees regular convene or a place where it is highly visible. • Have a disclaimer when the employee logs onto the network. • Conduct regular training on correct usage of the network and other resources. 38 Acceptable Use Policies (AUP’s) Typical components of an AUP should include: • what content can be accessed and what material is forbidden. • outline what responsibility should be taken towards content accessed and how it can be used. • clearly outline who in the organization is allowed access to online resources (it may not necessary for everybody to have access to the Internet). • state the precautions that have been put into place to prevent the inappropriate use of the Internet. 39 Acceptable Use Policies (AUP’s) • make it clear as to what actions will be taken against those who break the agreement of the policy and the seriousness of the crime. These components are vital for the construction of an effective AUP. It is important for an organisation to cover all angles to ensure protection from the law. 40 Acceptable Use Policies (AUP’s) In some legal cases against employers, employers were saved due to the AUP they had in place. • Schewenn vs. Anheuser-Busch Inc. An employee who received sexually harassing email messages from other employees failed to claim a hostile work environment because her employer had an email policy (Overly 2002). These policies put in place are essential to restrict any legal liability that an organisation might be involved in. This includes Internet usage as well as inappropriate email usage. 41 Conclusion • In society today pornography has a strong presence, it is important to identify this and not just ignore it. • Only once we understand the size and the online presence of the problem can we try to minimise the effects it has on the work place and online environment. • It is necessary to have an active approach as well as a passive approach to restrict access to online pornography. 42 References • • • • 43 Dictionary.com: definition of pornography. 2004. [Online]. Available WWW: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=pornography (Accessed 15/05/05). Hart et al. 2002. Structural development of Internet selfregulation: Case study of the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA). Info 4 (5): 39-55. Lectric Law Library Lexicon on Obscenity. 2002. [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/o002.htm. (Accessed 21/09/04). Merrrian Webster Dictionary of Law: definition of pornography. 1996. [Online]. Available WWW: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=pornography. (Accessed 19/09/04). References • • • 44 Overly, M. 2002. Email, adult content and employment law: Reducing liability with filtering and policy tools. [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.lonetree.com/nospam/Legal_Liability.pdf (Accessed 10/05/05). The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition: definition erotic. 2000. [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.answers.com/topic/erotic (accessed 25/05/05 Witzke. 2002. IntelliBridge Tech Update. [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.intellibridgellc.com/pdf/NewsletterJune.July.2002.pdf (Accessed 25/03/05).