CDT is fighting for the future of the First Amendment and free expression in the Information Age. CDT believes that individual choice and individual control of access to information are the key to protecting the First Amendment online. CDT supports making user empowerment technology, such as filtering, blocking, monitoring, and "Greenspace" tools, available for families who want to protect their children from viewing inappropriate material online. However, CDT opposes governmental attempts to set a national standard defining inappropriate material or restricting adult access to constitutionally protected speech.
Since its formation in January 1995, the Center for Democracy and Technology has advocated for free speech on the Internet. The Internet is a unique global communications medium that provides individuals with amazing opportunities to publish, speak, read and learn. With these opportunities, however, comes a responsibility and, particularly in the case of children, a potential risk. As we explore the wealth of information and resources that the Internet provides, we may encounter undesirable, inappropriate, or even illegal material.
Many government initiatives to protect children and families involve efforts to regulate the Internet that are not only ineffective but also threaten free speech online. Free expression flourishes online because the Internet provides individuals with an unprecedented degree of choice and control on the Internet, anyone can publish ideas for a global audience. CDT promotes individual choices and user empowerment, rather than governmental regulation, to protect the unique, decentralized nature of the Internet.
Rather than placing power in the hands of the government, CDT advocates for empowering individual users to exercise their right to choose the information that they see, hear, and speak on the Internet. Although children may need help in making these choices, we believe that educating parents, teachers, and librarians to guide children's Internet experiences is far more effective than government regulation.
More about CDT's mission and principles
In July 1999, a broad coalition of industry groups, nonprofit organizations and child advocates came together to launch GetNetWise.org, an unprecedented educational resource on Internet safety for parents, teachers, and librarians. GetNetWise provides a comprehensive database of online safety tools, tips for safe surfing, information on how to report online trouble, and links to great web sites for kids. The GetNetWise resource is available on all major Internet portals, and through a broad range of Internet Service Providers and family-oriented Web sites, representing 95% of the Internet audience. The goal of this educational resource is to put helpful Internet safety information "one click away" from parents. GetNetWise does not endorse
As a member of the GetNetWise Advisory Board, CDT played an integral role in the launch of GetNetWise. CDT believes that providing parents with educational information and tools is the best way to protect children on the Internet.
In December 1997, more than 650 participants representing over 300 organizations came together for the Internet Online Summit: Focus On Children. The Summit addressed ways to encourage the growth of the Internet as a safe and educational medium for kids while preserving the free flow of information online. Vice President Al Gore, Attorney General Janet Reno, Education Secretary Richard Riley, industry leaders, public interest and child advocates were among the summit speakers. Participants included industry leaders, educators, law enforcement officials, public interest and family advocates.
Several major child Internet safety initiatives emerged from the Summit, including a national educational campaign called "America Links Up". America Links Up: A Kids Online Teach-In was a broad-based public awareness campaign to ensure that every child in America had a safe, educational and rewarding experience online. America Links Up provided online safety tips for parents and kids, links to great web sites for kids, and suggestions for how to plan a "teach-in" at your local school or community center. On September 15, 1998, America Links Up kicked off National Kids Online Week with a National Town Hall meeting in Washington, DC to discuss why the Internet was important to our children's future, the pitfalls that parents and teachers should be aware of, and how adults could keep children safe when they are online.
CDT and other supporters of the America Links Up believed that shaping a child's online experience was a shared responsibility that starts with the family and extends to educators, librarians, community caregivers and all who provide Internet access and content. Through the America Links Up campaign, we sought to bring together the online industry, families, teachers, librarians and other children's advocates to encourage the active involvement of parents, teachers and other caregivers in children's online experiences.
In a meeting with public interest advocates and industry representatives in July 1997, President Clinton and Vice President Gore said that user control, as opposed to CDA-style content regulations, was the best way to help parents prevent their kids from accessing inappropriate material on the Internet. The President, noting that the meeting showed "how to pave the way to a family friendly Internet without paving over the constitutional guarantees to free speech and free expression," also announced a continuing effort to educate the public about the availability of user empowerment technology.
In conjunction with the White House event, CDT and an ad hoc group of industry and consumer/public interest groups released a White Paper documenting the availability and effectiveness of user empowerment tools for the Internet.