Government gone wild? Just being careful? I'd like to see what our government looks at as "controversial opinions"... Since it's the TSA they will probably be blocking that Seinfeld bit about fat TSA workers...The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is blocking certain websites from the federal agency's computers, including halting access by staffers to any Internet pages that contain a "controversial opinion," according to an internal email obtained by CBS News.
The email was sent to all TSA employees from the Office of Information Technology on Friday afternoon.
It states that as of July 1, TSA employees will no longer be allowed to access five categories of websites that have been deemed "inappropriate for government access."
The categories include:
• Chat/Messaging
• Controversial opinion
• Criminal activity
• Extreme violence (including cartoon violence) and gruesome content
• Gaming
The email does not specify how the TSA will determine if a website expresses a "controversial opinion."
There is also no explanation as to why controversial opinions are being blocked, although the email stated that some of the restricted websites violate the Employee Responsibilities and Conduct policy.
The TSA did not return calls seeking comment by publication time.
LOL.We could probably make a lot of comments about the ability of the TSA to discern "criminal activity".
Why does it matter though? They aren't preventing the employees from going to those sites at home, and they aren't preventing them from doing something on their own time.I'm more interested in how they are determining what is a "controversial opinion" than anything else.
Why does it matter? Mainly because I'm curious what our government considers controversial opinions I guess? As I've made rather clear, I'm not worried this is some big government clamp down on views they don't like, but it's an odd wording and I wonder what they mean by it. I'm only going to say this one last time, since people seem to not be reading posts well today: I. Don't. Care. If. They. Block. Every. Damn. Website. In. The. World.[/COLOR]Why does it matter though? They aren't preventing the employees from going to those sites at home, and they aren't preventing them from doing something on their own time.I'm more interested in how they are determining what is a "controversial opinion" than anything else.
Okay, so"Hate Speech" in the US requires specific incitement to criminal/discriminatory action of some kind, whether it's violence, harassment, or something else. If it doesn't contain such language, even the most racist point of view is protected by the 1st amendment.
Why does it matter? Mainly because I'm curious what our government considers controversial opinions I guess? As I've made rather clear, I'm not worried this is some big government clamp down on views they don't like, but it's an odd wording and I wonder what they mean by it. I'm only going to say this one last time, since people seem to not be reading posts well today: I. Don't. Care. If. They. Block. Every. Damn. Website. In. The. World.[/COLOR]Why does it matter though? They aren't preventing the employees from going to those sites at home, and they aren't preventing them from doing something on their own time.I'm more interested in how they are determining what is a "controversial opinion" than anything else.
Okay, so"Hate Speech" in the US requires specific incitement to criminal/discriminatory action of some kind, whether it's violence, harassment, or something else. If it doesn't contain such language, even the most racist point of view is protected by the 1st amendment.
Wondering about something is an overreaction? Well, time to pack our bags boys.It's not that I don't wonder about what the government is doing, it's just that I really don't care what their rationale is for blocking certain sites for their employees. It seems like an overreaction to me.
Why does it matter? Mainly because I'm curious what our government considers controversial opinions I guess? As I've made rather clear, I'm not worried this is some big government clamp down on views they don't like, but it's an odd wording and I wonder what they mean by it. I'm only going to say this one last time, since people seem to not be reading posts well today: I. Don't. Care. If. They. Block. Every. Damn. Website. In. The. World.[/COLOR]Why does it matter though? They aren't preventing the employees from going to those sites at home, and they aren't preventing them from doing something on their own time.I'm more interested in how they are determining what is a "controversial opinion" than anything else.