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More sites found blocked by Cyber Patrol (January 2002)

Peacefire's most recent test of Cyber Patrol was conducted in January 2002. Cyber Patrol has now been on the market for six years, with complaints about overblocking dating back to 1995, so it is reasonable to assume that if problems with the accuracy rate have not been fixed by now, they are probably inherent in the program.

The blocked sites found in our most recent test have been broken up into categories below; most of the blocked sites fell in one of these few categories. A site blocked as "sexually explicit" refers to a site blocked by Cyber Patrol with only the "Full Nudity" and "Partial Nudity" categories turned on; these categories are defined by Cyber Patrol not to "include sites containing nudity or partial nudity of a non-prurient nature". These are the categories used to block Playboy.com and other pornographic sites; most sites on Cyber Patrol's list are blocked as "sexually explicit". These sites were all blocked at the time this page was published (February 1, 2002) unless otherwise noted. The word "blocked" generally links to a screen capture of Cyber Patrol blocking the site.

Some of these mistakes can be explained by human error (e.g. blocking Anthonyhowell.org as a pornographic site because it contains artistic nudity); others appear to be unattributable to human error (e.g. blocking Adoption Links Worldwide as a pornographic site). Cyber Patrol describes the process by which their blocked-site list is put together, as "a combination of automated tools, human researchers, and spidering technologies". Their Web site used to claim that every site blocked by their product was first viewed by an employee, but that claim no longer appears on their Web page. (Ever since Cyber Patrol was first sold, sites that no human reviewer could have considered "offensive", such as the ones below, have been regularly found to be blocked by Cyber Patrol. The company's claims of 100% human review may have finally been simply removed from the site.)

Churches and religious organizations:

• Catholic Students' Association -- an organization of Catholic students in Denmark. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• The Greater Mitchell Temple -- a Christian church in Detroit, Michigan. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• The Family Life Center -- a San Jose church and Christian community. The site was blocked on 1/8/2002 but was unblocked before this page was published.
• Hillel of Silicon Valley -- providing programs and events to Jewish students in the Silicon Valley area. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• The Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery and International Retreat Centre for Women -- a nunnery for Tibetan women founded by a female Buddhist in 1993. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Crossroads Church in Tacoma, Washington. The site was blocked on 1/5/2002 but was unblocked before this page was published.
• St. Alexis Parish -- a Catholic parish in Wexford, Pennsylvania. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Jerry and Sherry Daniels -- the home page for a married couple that have been serving as missionaries in Kenya since 1974. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Summit Presbyterian Church -- in Butler, Pennsylvania. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Foundery United Methodist Church -- a church serving Lowell, Arkansas. The site was blocked as "Alcohol/Tobacco" on 1/22/2002 but was unblocked before this page was published.

Organizations for children and youth:

• Aleh.org -- providing medical and rehabilitative care to disabled children in Israel. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Acorn Community Enterprises -- a community program in Shasta County, California providing developing youth programs and economic development activities. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Beatitudes Age Link -- a child development center offering care for children from infancy through preschool age. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• All About Omaha -- a network promoting civic involvement for young leaders living in Omaha. Blocked as "Questionable/Illegal".
• Variety Club of Queensland -- an association founded by entertainers to raise money for the support of underpriveleged and handicapped children. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• "High Schools That Work", Ohio Chapter -- an organization of administrators, principals, and teachers promoting school improvement in Ohio. Blocked as sexually explicit.

Environmental and animal rights pages:

• The Universal Ecology Foundation -- an ecological organization in Argentina (the English portion of their site is still under construction). Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Columbia River Eco-Law Enforcement -- promoting enforcement of conservation law to protect the wildlife and ecology of the Columbia River Basin in Oregon. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• South Carolina Awareness and Rescue for Equines (S.C.A.R.E. Inc.) -- working with the Humane Society and Animal Control Offices to ensure humane treatment of horses in South Carolina. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Corners of the World -- promoting awareness of endangered species and environmental preservation. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Coon Rapids Regional Energy/Environment Demonstration (CREED) -- supporting environmental education in and around Coon Rapids, Minnesota. Blocked as sexually explicit.

Hospitals, treatment centers, and medical information sites:

• The American Cancer Society -- Cyber Patrol later said this site was blocked because its IP address used to be assigned to www.chinesesex.net. (The link does point to the current ACS home page, but Cyber Patrol Vice President Susan Getgood claimed in testimony before the National Academy of Sciences, in March 2001, that Cyber Patrol did not block sites by IP address.)
• Capitol Hill Medical Clinic -- providing medical services to Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. The site was blocked on 1/8/2002 but was unblocked before this page was published.
• The Tsow-Tun Le Lum Society -- a substance abuse treatment center in Lantzville, British Columbia, Canada. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Good Shepherd Manor -- providing residential and day treatment services to men with developmental disabilities in Momence, Illinois. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• The Dr. Vodder School -- offering training programs in Combined Decongestive Therapy. The site was blocked on 1/6/2002 but was unblocked before this page was published.
• Advanced Life Support Group -- a medical education charity founded in 1993 to provide training and education to the public on life saving techniques. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Bipolar Home -- an educational site about bipolar affective disorder ("manic depressive" disorder) in children and adults. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• AVSC.org -- now EngenderHealth, promoting women's health issues worldwide. EngenderHealth.org is not blocked, but AVSC.org is blocked as sex education.
• LifeStream -- promoting research on addictions, attention deficit disorder (ADHD) and other compulsive/impulsive disorders. The site was blocked on 1/22/2002 but was unblocked before this page was published.
• TeenAIDS -- a site promoting AIDS awareness with an emphasis on education for teens. Blocked as sex education.

Miscellaneous sites:

• Adoption Links Worldwide -- a child placement agency for adopted children, focusing on internationally born infants and toddlers. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• The Sacramento Council for International Visitors -- a non-profit program for Sacramento volunteers to provide hospitality and sightseeing tours to international visitors in Sacramento. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Soccer New Brunswick -- an association of soccer teams in New Brunswick, Canada. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• The Lithuanian Free Market Institute -- founded in 1990 to promote capitalism and limited government in the previously communist country of Lithuania. Blocked as sexual acts/text.
• FreeCrypto.org -- offering tools to protect against hackers and viruses. [Note, the site contents have changed since 2002 and are no longer relevant.] The site also offers a parental control program competing with Cyber Patrol, although this is presumably not why it was blocked as sexually explicit.
• The Association for the Protection of Internet Copyright -- supporting stronger copyright laws and enforcement on the Internet. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Cycladic Academy for Europe -- promoting cooperation between governments and non-governmental organizations (NGO's) in southeastern Europe. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• First Day of School America -- a nonprofit organization promoting parental involvement in schools and encouraging schools to allow parents to attend their children's first school days. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• The Windham Center Fire Department -- educational information and history of the fire department in Windham, Connecticut. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• WNEC -- a non-commercial college radio station broadcasting in Henniker, New Hampshire. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• The White House Conference on Small Business -- promoting Washington, D.C. lobbying favorable to small businesses. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Bibliographies.org -- an index of bibliographies of twentieth-century writers. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Lake Arrowhead Community, Inc. -- a non-profit community organization promoting the amenities available to businesses and visitors to Lake Arrowhead, Maine. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• The Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation -- supporting public appreciation of the Lewis and Clark Expedition's contributions to American heritage. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• El Camino Real High School 1970 Graduating Class Alumni Web site -- for alumni of the high school, in El Camino Real, California. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• The Scrimgeour Clan Web Site -- for descendants of the Scottish "Scrimgeour" Clan. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• The Hudson Valley Regional Council -- promoting cooperation between public service agencies in Hudson Valley, New York. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Project Blue Book, a.k.a. SETI@Home, a distributed computing program that uses spare computer cycles on users' computers to perform computations aiding in the search for extra-terrestrial life. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• CyberArtist.org -- home page of Ben Golus, a computer graphic artist working in Santa Barbara. Blocked as sexual acts/text.
• The GRI Charitable Foundation -- a non-profit organization founded to raise funds for poverty relief, public health, defense of civil liberties and human rights, and other causes. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Cal Carley's Boys Ranch Alumni Association -- for alumni of a ranch for boys (and now girls) to build character through ranch life. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• USNA Nevada Parents Organization -- an organization promoting issues of interest to parents in the U.S. Navy. Blocked as "Questionable/illegal".
• Third Planet Pictures -- a collection of wildlife and nature photographs. The site was blocked on 1/22/2002 but was unblocked before this page was published.
• The Sons of the American Legion, Texas Chapter -- an association of men descended from veterans who died in foreign service in the U.S. military. Blocked as sexually explicit. (The Web site of the national chapter is not blocked.)

Gay-themed Web sites:

• The Sonora/Mother Lode chapter of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. Blocked as sexually explicit. (The rest of freedomring.org is blocked, even though the front page is blank.)
• Steel City Sports -- a directory of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered sports organizations in Pittsburgh. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Lesbian and Gay Psychotherapy of Los Angeles -- an organization of mental health professionals focusing on issues confronting lesbian and gay clients. Blocked as sexually explicit.

Sites featuring nudity that is clearly not pornographic:

• AnthonyHowell.org -- home page of a British poet and performance artist. Possibly blocked because of nudity (though of a very non-pornographic kind) in some of the photographs taken from his performance pieces. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Nudists.org -- a nudist/naturist site opposing legislation to outlaw nudity on formerly nude beaches. Some of the pictures feature nudity (including a humorous splash graphic on the front page), but of the clearly non-pornographic kind. Blocked as sexually explicit.
• Club Catala de Naturisme -- a nudist beach in Barcelona, Spain. Some pictures feature nudity but are clearly not pornographic. Blocked as sexually explicit.