Employer blocking women's health info....WTF?

I am a bit peeved at this...should I be?

In an attempt to obtain the phone number for a gynecologist through the internet at work (we have a lot of free reign when it comes to using the net here), the web page that I am searching for the numbers on, Planned Parenthood of PA (no insurance means Planned Parenthood for a gynie) has come up as being blocked by the corporate filter. Not the whole site, just certain sections, including the section regarding exam info. The reason that comes up? "Pro-Choice". It's blocking the "womenshealth" phrase in the addy! This just really irks me to no end...it's totally political and sexist, to boot. Or am I just overreacting?

Thanks for letting me vent.

It is certainly bias.

It's a website filter made by the IT department

like they manually put in all the terms and catchphrases that should be blocked?


I'm int he it department at my job, and we get a pre-selected filter that gets applied to the network, sometimes with hilarious side effects.


send your it department an email asking them to unblock the site, because you can't get info you need.


also, do a quick google on pro-life sites, and see if they are blocked for being pro-life. try one of the especially greusome ones..like:

www.holylamb.com

But I did a google on pro-life sites...none of them are blocked. The holylamb site isn't blocked.

well tell your IT department to unblock it. I highly doubt they are selecting content. no one has the time for that crap. or at least i don't! *lol*

Yes the blocking software is blocking abortion-related sites (defined very broadly). Some vendors advertise that they block this category, as well as "activism" related sites.

The peacefire site (http://www.peacefire.org/) has very good and very critical information about blocking software.

I would bet peacefire is blocked as well - these companies put Web sites critical of their products on the blocked list.

I went to this web site here at work, and although I could see it momentarily, I got the Access Denied! screen when I went to a linked page, and when I went back to the original page. (By the, I've also gotten the Access Denied! screen when perusing formalwear sites.)

I don't know that it's deliberate, or done by your company of its own choice. Lots of the 'net nanny' filtering software filters this stuff, though. Several of these companies have been busted out about it, they block sites that are actually ideologically distasteful to them instead of sites that really have information that would be harmful to children. You might discuss it with 'the IT guy' to see if there's nanny software, and if there's any way s/he can take the block off. Not sure -- some of these companies will sue if you tamper with their filtering databases, there may not be anything that can be done.

Which is to say, some quasi-religious organization probably designed the database for your company's 'net nanny,' and it chose to block any information that could be associated with abortion. Because as we all know, if nobody ever reads about abortions, nobody will have them. And they think Planned Parenthood does nothing but abortions.

See if they also block those. If not, narrow the field and look for sites with info about vasectomies. If they are not blocked by the filter, the argument might be made that there is gender based filtering going on and it might be very questionable.

Be calm and good natured about it. After all, you are just concerned that any gender bias might open the company to some liabilities and you want to protect your company from any problems that an oversight such as this could create. ;)

Edited to add: I ran the little test...no filters at all on men's health sites...specifically ones regarding vasectomies and condoms. Interesting...

so they can practice their love more often.

Seriously....it's probably a "net nanny" that's filtering out too much.

Categorize planned parenthood as an "Advocacy Group".

All sites touching abortion are blocked at my place of employment. While at work you are using someone else's computer system and resources and have NO right to use the internet.

I would also assume every email and post you make is logged. The time you spend on the internet and where you spend it is available in neat little reports.

I work with security systems for a large company. You have no leg to stand on legally.

Sorry.

Just wanted some info about about a doctor. And, we ARE allowed to use the net for medical purposes.

If it sounded harsh. Didn't mean it that way.

But planned parenthood is an advocacy group for abortion. Nothing wrong with that. Most companies use tools that categorize sites like ,gambling, firearms, political (this site). Some block a few, some block all.

I would not bang away against the system because it will just fill a log up with your username and terminal information.

You may want to try physician search tools or switchboard.com.

http://dbapps.ama-assn.org/aps/amahg.htm

good luck..

Thanks

somewhat different. and above all they are an advocacy group for education. more education=less need for abortion.

do not make that distinction. EFF is blocked by them as well, a privacy group.

I agree with your assessment.

It's possible that it could also be doing keyword checks of the target pages, and terms like "vagina" or "sex" may be triggering a block even if it's not on a block list.

Why do employers block advocacy sites? Even sites like DemocraticUnderground or Slashdot? Because there is a theoretical liability for the company if you use their resources to post or look up information that is defamatory, libellous, or threatening.