School Web Filters: Helpful or Hindering?

Trying to learn Spanish with a teacher, only to find that the links he gives you are all blocked. That's what happened to Aleeza Siddique, a 15-year-old from Northern California. Her school's internet filter turned their lesson into a vocabulary drill. A new study by the Center for Democracy & Technology found that 70% of teachers and students say web filters often get in the way of assignments. Schools use these filters to follow a law that keeps kids from seeing inappropriate content online.But some filters block more than they should, like websites about LGBTQ+ issues or sex education. Elizabeth Laird from the center says the filters are "subjective and unchecked. " Aleeza thinks her school should be more open about what it blocks and why. After all, shouldn't students know what they're being "protected" from?