![]() |
Apple iPads provided by MSSD14 allow children access to unlimited pornography |
MEMORANDUM
From: Robert Peters, General
Counsel of Morality in Media
To: To Whom It May Concern
Date: March 2012
Re: Manitou Springs
(Colorado) School District (District 14) policy regarding student use
of school provided Apple iPad2 tablet computers
- Introduction
I have been asked to provide an analysis regarding the
Manitou Springs School District 14 (“District 14”) policy of
providing 5th thru
8th grade students
with Apple iPad2 tablet computers (“iPad2s”) for educational use
both within and away from school grounds. While District 14 filters
the wireless signal that emanates from its own school based servers,
the iPad2s are not themselves properly equipped with filtering
protections and thus allow unrestricted access to the Internet via
wireless signals that emanate from other sources. Some of these
unfiltered signals can be received while students are on school
grounds. Students’ use of the iPad2s for school work away from
school grounds is also unmonitored, thus allowing children to browse
the Internet with no record of web pages they visit or the search
requests they make. The following additional information about the
District 14 policy regarding student use of its iPad2s has been
provided by a concerned parent.
Manitou Springs School District - Initially, District 14 installed the LightSpeed Mobile Filter browser that provides 24/7 protections but also inadvertently installed additional Internet browsing applications that did not filter or monitor students’ online activities (hereinafter, “unrestricted browsers”).
- When District 14 first became aware of its unrestricted browsers problem, it indicated that these unrestricted browsers would be removed from its iPad2s and did in fact begin to remove them. Subsequently, District 14 reversed itself and provided iPad2s with unrestricted browsers (Safari, Wiki, Wikibot, Zite, Smartnote, and perhaps others) because it deemed “the educational value” of these browsers “too great to justify removing them.” [Quoted matter from a statement, ”Blazing new trails in 21st Century Learning,” issued by Chris Burr, Principal, Manitou Springs Middle School.]
- To address the problem of children gaining access to harmful Internet content while using school issued iPad2s when away from school, District 14 shifted that responsibility to parents. District 14 Policy Code: JS, entitled “Student Use of the Internet and Electronic Communications” and adopted in December 2011 (available at mssd14.org/boe/section_J_3x.html#JS), states in part: “Parents and/or legal guardians must accept responsibility for the blocking and filtering of obscene, pornographic and harmful information while their students are away from school and using district issued technological devices.”
- In order for a child to use a school issued iPad2 while away from school, a parent must sign an iPad User Agreement [available at www.mssd14.org/boe/section_J_3x.html#JSE ] which states in part: “I understand that access to the Internet… is designed for educational purposes and that the school district has taken reasonable steps to block or filter material and information that is…harmful to minors…I also recognize…that it is impossible for the school district to prevent access to all materials or information I might find harmful or controversial and I agree not to hold the district responsible for any such materials and information accessed by my child. Further, I accept full responsibility for supervision if and when my child's Internet or electronic communications use is not in a school setting.”
- Because browsers (e.g., Safari) now installed on the iPad2s do not offer parental controls, parents have no means of controlling Internet content beamed from unsecured Wi-Fi signals readily accessible to their children when they are off school grounds. Parents also face burdensome and complex technical measures to place controls upon their own home wireless networks to protect children while their children are at home.
- If a parent chooses to “Opt Out” of the school’s recommended “iPad at home” program, the parent must first sign a Technology User Agreement that says in part: “I understand that my child may not have the same learning opportunities as other students who have access to the school-issued iPad beyond normal school hours.”
- District 14 Policy Code: JS, entitled “Student Use of the Internet and Electronic Communications” (adopted in December 2011 and available at mssd14.org/boe/section_J_3x.html#JS), states in part: “The Internet and electronic communications (e-mail, chat rooms and other forms of electronic communication) have vast potential to support curriculum and student learning…[O]peration of these tools…outside of the traditional classroom supports the district’s vision of utilizing resources such as time and support (beyond normal hours of operation) to increase individualized learning for students…District computers…and technological devices are owned by the district and…intended for educational purposes at all times.”
The question has arisen as to whether the District 14
policy is in compliance with the Colorado
Children’s Internet Protection Act [C.R.S. 87-22-101 et seq.],
which states in part in Subsections 101(2) and
104(1) & (2): “It is
the intent of the general assembly…that public schools be required
to adopt and enforce reasonable policies of internet safety that will
protect children from access to harmful material without
compromising…use of the internet as an educational resource…[T]he
governing body of each [school] district shall adopt and implement a
policy of internet safety for minors that includes the operation of a
technology protection measure for each computer operated by the
district that allows for access to the internet by a minor…After
the adoption and implementation of the policy…the governing body of
each [school] district shall continue to enforce the policy and the
operation of the technology protection measure for each computer
operated by the district that allows for access to the internet by a
minor.”
The question has also arisen as to whether the District
14 policy is in compliance with the Federal
Child Internet Protection Act [47 U.S.C. 254(h)(5)],
which states in Subsection 254(h)(5)(B)(i)
that in order for a school to qualify to buy Internet
access at a discount it must first certify that it is “enforcing
a policy of Internet safety for minors that includes monitoring the
online activities of minors and the operation of a technology
protection measure with respect to any of its computers with Internet
access that protects against access through such computers to visual
depictions that are …harmful to minors.”
Before addressing these questions, however, there is
another question(s) which should be addressed – namely, whether
providing children with unrestricted access to the Internet puts them
at serious risk for exposure to hardcore adult pornography and
whether this exposure can (and often does) lead to serious harm.
- Harm to children from exposure to hardcore adult pornography
![]() |
Every cloud has a silver lining |
- K.B. Skinner, “Is porn really destroying 500,000 marriages annually? (Opinion),” Psychology Today, 12/12/11, available at www.psychologytoday.com/blog/inside-porn-addiction/201112/is-porn-really-destroying-500000-marriages-annually
- G. Callaghan, “Lust, caution as addiction to online pornography grows,” The Australian, 9/3/11, available at www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/lust-caution-as-addiction-to-online-pornography-grows/story-e6frg8h6-1226126673876
- J.R. Anderson, “Addicted to Online Porn: X-rated Internet explosion wreaks havoc with troops’ careers, lives,” Marine Corps Times, 3/31/10, available at www.marinecorpstimes.com/offduty/health/offduty_porn_033110/
- “Grassley launches inquiry into reports alleging Fed computers used to view porn,” www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/28/grassley-launches-inquiry-reports-alleging-fed-computers-used-view-porn/, 1/28/09.
- J.W. Kennedy, “Help for the Sexually Desperate,” Christianity Today, Mar. 2008, available at www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/march/18.28.html
- H. Neill, “Male sex addict cases ‘increase,’” BBC Radio, 1/10/08, available at news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7180401.stm
- L. Michel & D. Herbeck, “Part Four: Confessions of a child porn addict,” Buffalo News, 10/17/07, available at www.buffalonews.com/city/special-reports/article106547.ece
- K. Morrison, “Battling Sexual Addiction,” Dateline, 2/24/04, available at www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4302347/
Recently, the Supreme Court ruled in Graham
v. Florida, 130 Sup. Ct. 2011 (2010) that the
Eighth Amendment’s cruel and unusual punishments clause prohibited
imposition of a life-without-parole sentence on a juvenile offender
who had committed a non-homicide crime. In so holding the Court again
recognized (at p. 2026) that juveniles have a “lack of maturity and
an underdeveloped sense of responsibility” and are “more
vulnerable...to negative influences.” [Italics
added]
![]() |
"The availability of pornography through portable devices drastically affects a child's understanding of acceptable sexual behaviour, according to experts...." The Sydney Morning Herald |
- L. Chedekel, “Study targets group sex among teens,” BU Today, 1/17/12, available at www.bu.edu/today/2012/group-sex-among-teens-a-growing-trend/
- A. Lowe, “Porn blamed for children’s problem sexual behavior,” The Age, 1/14/12, available at www.theage.com.au/action/printArticle?id=2892005
- A. Morris, “They know what the boys want,” New York Magazine, 2/7/11, available at http://nymag.com/news/features/70977/
- D. Aitkenhead, “Teenage Kicks: Are they hooked on porn?” www.psychologies.com, 6/8/10, available at www.psychologies.co.uk/articles/are-teenagers-hooked-on-porn/
- P. Marshall, “Teenage boys watching hours of internet pornography every week are treating their girlfriends like sex objects,” Daily Mail (UK), 3/8/10, available at www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1255856/Teenage-boys-watching-hours-internet-pornography-week-treating-girlfriends-like-sex-objects.html
- J. Slack, “Web is blamed for 20 per cent leap in sex attacks by children,” Mail Online, 3/2/07, available at www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-439746/Web-blamed-20-cent-leap-sex-attacks-children.html
- B. English, “The secret life of boys: Pornography is a mouse click away and kids are being exposed to it…,” Boston Globe, 5/12/05, available at: www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2005/05/12/the_secret_life_of_boys/
- R. Jerome, “The cyberporn generation,” People, 4/26/04, available at www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20149941,00.html
And make no mistake about it, large numbers of children
are being exposed to hardcore adult pornography online, as the
following surveys show.
- According to a study published in 2012,1 “one-in-five, or 21% of children have accessed inappropriate websites via their mobile phone, rising to a third of 14-15 year-olds…Whether it’s intentionally digging out inappropriate websites, or stumbling across websites or content, many children are seeing, reading and viewing matter that they know is only meant for adults.” The study looked into the mobile web behavior of 8 -15 year-olds in the UK.
- According to a study published in 2010,2 42% of Internet users aged 10 to 17 surveyed said they had seen online pornography in a recent 12-month span. Most kids who reported unwanted exposure were aged 13 to 17. “Still, sizable numbers of 10- and 11-year-olds also had unwanted exposure – 17 percent of boys and 16 percent of girls that age.”
- According to a study published in 2007,3 students aged 13 and 14 from schools in Alberta, Canada, were surveyed about how and how often they accessed sexually explicit media content in various media. “A majority of the students, 74%, reported viewing pornography on the Internet.”
- According to a study published in 2006,4 the percentage of Internet users ages 10 to 17 exposed to unwanted pornography in the previous year increased from 25% in 2000 to 34% in 2005, “and these increases were seen across every age group, including preteens (10-12) from 9 to 19% [and] early teens (13-15) from 28% to 35%...”
Despite what pornography defenders may say, exposing
children to hardcore adult pornography is not
a matter of little or no concern. When children are
exposed to materials that depict adulterous, promiscuous, degrading,
abusive, violent and illegal sexual behaviors, they can learn wrong
things about sex and relationships.5
When children become addicted to this material, their
psychological development can be affected.6
Children are also harmed when sexually abused by other
children who have imitated sexual behaviors that they viewed in
pornography.7
- Colorado Children’s Internet Protection Act (CCIPA)
![]() |
Sign: "Porn puts our children in harms way" |
Furthermore, Section 104 of CCIPA
twice refers to the “operation of a technology
protection measure for each computer
operated by the district that allows for access to
the internet by a minor” [italics
added], and on its face this section applies regardless
of where or when a computer operated by the district is used.
Lest anyone think that when a child takes a school issued iPad2 home
that computer is no longer “operated by the district,” the
following language in District 14 Policy Code: JS (see Introduction
above at p.2) ought to dispel that notion:
[O]peration of these tools…outside
of the traditional classroom supports the district’s vision of
utilizing resources such as time and support (beyond normal hours of
operation) to increase individualized learning for students…District
computers… are owned by the district and…intended for educational
purposes at all times. [Italics
added]
Furthermore, Section 105 of CCIPA
states, in part:
An administrator, supervisor, or any other person authorized by the district …may temporarily disable the technology protection measure to enable access to the internet on a particular computer by…[a] minor for bona fide research or other lawful purposes where the internet use in connection with the research or other lawful purpose is supervised by an administrator, supervisor, or other person authorized by the district… [Italics added]
When construing language in a criminal statute, any
ambiguity is to be construed against the government and in favor of
the person who must comply with the law. But CCIPA is not a criminal
statute, and to construe this law as allowing schools to provide 5th
grade children with take home computers that provide
unrestricted Internet access and browsing applications that are
incompatible with protection measures, is ludicrous, particularly
when functional filtered browsing applications specifically developed
for iPads deployed in “24/7” educational programs (e.g.,
Lightspeed browser) are readily available and already owned by
District 14.
Defenders of District 14’s Internet use policy also
point to language in Subsection 102(2) of
CCIPA which states that “public schools be
required to adopt and enforce reasonable
policies of internet safety that
will protect children from access to harmful material without
compromising…use of the internet as an educational resource…”
The argument here is that if children are provided with
iPad2s that come equipped with Internet browsing applications that
filter online activity “24/7,” their use of
internet as an educational resource will be “compromis[ed].”
It ought to go without saying, however, that providing
school children with iPad2 browsing applications that offer no
technology protection measure – and that cannot be equipped with
such a measure – does not comply with CCIPA, which requires a
policy of Internet safety that “will
protect children from access to
harmful content.” Nor does District 14’s
misguided attempt to shift the responsibility for protecting children
to parents comply with the mandate to adopt a policy that “will
protect children from access to harmful
content.”
Furthermore, it is hard to imagine what irreplaceable
educational benefit(s) will be lost if school children ages 10 to 14
are provided with iPad2s that are equipped with browsers that filter
smut. Is there knowledge that 5th
thru 8th grade
children must have access to now that would be forever lost to them
if their Internet explorations were subject to reasonable and legally
required protection measures? Are there computer skills these school
children must learn now,
or else? Even assuming that some children would benefit in the long
term from having unrestricted access to the Internet at young ages,
would it not be reasonable to
offer classes which provide such access but under the watchful eye of
adults?
It should also be remembered that in businesses and
government agencies all across America access to the Internet is
restricted and/or monitored.8
This is done to prevent misuse of computers resulting in
loss of productivity and liability.9
The wireless portable computers issued to trained
Colorado Springs police officers (for use in their patrol vehicles)
have only filtered monitored Internet access. Do District 14 school
children really need greater access than local police officers?
- District 14’s ‘Acceptable Use Agreement’
In order for a child to use a school issued iPad2 while
away from school, a parent must sign an Acceptable
Use Agreement which states in part:
I understand that access to the Internet… is designed
for educational purposes and that the school district has taken
reasonable steps to block or filter material and information that
is…harmful to minors…I also recognize …that it is impossible
for the school district to prevent access to all materials or
information I might find harmful or controversial and I agree not to
hold the district responsible for any such materials and information
accessed by my child. Further, I accept full responsibility for
supervision if and when my child's Internet or electronic
communications use is not in a school setting. [“Agreement”
available at http://www.mssd14.org/boe/section_J_3x.html#JSE
]
The Agreement would make sense if District 14 had done
all it could (from a technology protection measure perspective) to
restrict children’s access to harmful content on the Internet
because no filtering technology is 100% effective or foolproof. But
it defies the imagination to understand how District 14 can state
that it has taken “reasonable steps
to block or filter material and information that is
harmful to minors” when the only step
it has taken to block or filter such
content is to filter the wireless signal that emanates from its own
school based server.
This one step
does not even provide full protection for children when
they are in school because they can get access to wireless signals
that emanate from off school grounds and potentially from smartphones
within the school. Furthermore, it is District 14 that is encouraging
parents to allow children to take their school issued iPad2s home and
that has decided to equip those iPad2s with browsers that do not come
equipped with parental controls. One is also left to wonder how
parents can fulfill their “responsibility for supervision,” given
the fact that the iPad2s come with browsers that are not and cannot
be equipped with parental controls.
- Federal Child Internet Protection Act (FCIPA)
![]() |
Little girl viewing Apple iPad |
District 14 does have the ability to monitor the online
activities of its students when they are in
school, but has chosen to allow and encourage
use of its iPad2s “for educational purposes” when students are
away from school. When children use their iPad2s while away from
schools, their use is not monitored.
District 14 does filter the wireless signal that
emanates from its own school based server, and this might
fulfill the requirement of a technology measure that protects against
access to harmful content, if students used the iPad2s only
when they were in school. But again, District
14 permits and encourages use of its iPad2s for educational purposes
when students are away from school; and when used away from school,
there is no technology measure, on unrestricted browsers, that
protects against access to harmful content.
There is no language in the FCIPA
that can be construed as allowing District 14 to ignore
its requirements when students use iPad2s away from school or as
allowing District 14 to shift to parents the responsibility for
complying with the FCIPA.
Furthermore, even if the FCIPA did
permit District 14 to shift the burden to parents, its iPad2s are not
equipped with technology protection measures on the several
unrestricted browsing applications provided to students nor can they
be.
The District 14 policy is therefore not in compliance
with the FCIPA.
Addendum
(On a personal note)
![]() |
Robert W. Peters, Esq., Morality in Media |
I didn’t start playing organized tackle football
until I got to high school, where I quickly discovered
that there is a big difference
between sandlot and high school football. For one thing,
you have to be in shape to play high school football, and I was not
in shape when I showed up for the first practice in the fall of 1963.
Not only did I “die” during freshman year practices, I got
whipped during games too!
But I wanted to play football real bad, and I didn’t
quit. I also worked hard in the off season; and as a result of that
desire, perseverance and hard work, I was named a co-captain of my
high school sophomore football team. Towards the end of my sophomore
year, there was even talk about bringing me up to the varsity team.
Today, I am glad that I didn’t have the opportunity to
play organized tackle “youth football.” I say this because I know
from personal experience that the more organized tackle football a
person plays the more injuries he is likely to have, and injuries
often have adverse later-in-life effects. Had I gotten as involved in
“youth football” as many youth do today, my academic progress
might also have suffered; and I might not have had an opportunity to
play on a great Ivy League football team. I would also have missed
out on many great sandlot sport experiences.
What does playing “youth football” have to do with
providing 5th thru
8th graders with
iPad2s? For one thing, while starting early can have benefits for
some, desire, perseverance, and hard work can usually more than
compensate for any lack of longevity. For another, there can be
negative effects associated with starting some things too young and
doing them too often, like playing tackle football, watching TV and
spending time on the Internet.10
I would add one more thing. It is no secret that many
parents do not take advantage of the technology protection measures
available to them; and this is unfortunate.
But parental failures do not provide District
14 with an excuse to say in so many words, “Because many parents do
not use technology protection measures on computers under their
control, we won’t use these measures either.” The Colorado
General Assembly enacted CCIPA to
protect children from pornography on the Internet, and the District
14 student-use-of-the-Internet policy needs to be in compliance with
that Act. While there are differences between a school Internet use
policy and a school lunch program, few would defend a school that
attempted to justify serving a steady diet of nutritional garbage to
students on the grounds that nutritional garbage is what is what many
of them eat at home.
Endnotes
1 “Smartphones
exposing children to pornography and violence as 1.2m youngsters
admit to logging on,” Education News,
1/30/12, available at
educationviews.org/2012/01/30/smartphones-exposing-children-to-pornography-and-violence-as-1-2m-youngsters-admit-to-logging-on/
3 Bev
Betkowski, “Rural teen boys most likely to access pornography,
study shows,” Faculty News, University of Alberta, Feb. 23, 2007,
available at
www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-02/uoa-oit022307.php
4 J.
Wolak, et al., “Online victimization of youth: Five years later,”
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), pages
8 & 51 (2006). [ www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/NewsEventServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=2529 ]
5 See,
e.g., Hearing on The Science Behind
Pornography Addiction, Before U.S. Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 2004 (testimony
of Mary Anne Layden, Ph.D.), (“Pornography, by its very nature, is
an equal opportunity toxin…It is toxic mis-education about sex and
relationships. It is more toxic the more you consume, the ‘harder’
variety you consume, and the younger and more vulnerable the
consumer.”), available at
commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Hearings&ContentRecord_id=e8088f9f-d8d2-4e82-b012-46337c6f9456&ContentType_id=14f995b9-dfa5-407a-9d35-56cc7152a7ed&Group_id=b06c39af-e033-4cba-9221-de668ca1978a&YearDisplay=2004
6 See,
e.g., S. Gilbert, “A conversation with Lynn Ponton: An expert’s
eye on teenage sex, risk & abuse,” N.Y. Times, 01/15/02
(“I see boys who are addicted to sex sites on the
Internet that show sadistic behavior toward women. It affects those
boys' sexual lives…”), available at query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9402E6D61438F936A25752C0A9649C8B63
7 See
generally, R. Peters, “Harm to children from online exposure to
hardcore adult pornography,” Morality in Media, 2011, available at
moralityinmedia.org/images/pdf/MIM_Peters_Children.pdf
8 See,
e.g., “The latest on workplace monitoring and surveillance,”
American Management Association, 3/13/08, available at
www.amanet.org/training/articles/The-Latest-on-Workplace-Monitoring-and-Surveillance.aspx
9 See,
e.g., “Increased visits to porn sites at work,” Industry
News, Wavecrest Computing, 2/24/09,
available at www.wavecrest.net/editorial/issues.html#pr27
10 See,
e.g., B. Spengler, “How America made its children crazy,” Asia
Times, 1/31/12, available at www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/NA31Dj01.html;
M. Ritchel, “Grading the digital school: In classroom of the
future, stagnant scores,” N.Y. Times,
9/3/11, available at www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/technology/technology-in-schools-faces-questions-on-value.html?pagewanted=all;
“Excessive Internet use,” Be Web Aware,
available at www.bewebaware.ca/english/compulsive_use.html
-- ---- --
Note: All graphics, captions, and hyperlinks in captions have been added by SafeLibraries.
This story provides background for this memorandum:
- "School District's iPad Policy Raises Concerns of Web Safety," by Andy Koen, KOAA - Colorado Springs & Pueblo, 23 January 2012.
For a general overview of Manitou Springs D-14 Internet safety problem, an article by the Independence Institute's Senior Education Policy Analyst, Ben DeGrow, is linked here:
- "Digital Dilemma: Why Can’t All Districts Filter Internet Device Access from Home?," by Eddie/Ben DeGrow, Independence Institute, 20 February 2012.
This story gives a quick example of the harms of pornography on children, particularly the "availability of pornography through portable devices":
- "Porn Blamed for Children's Problem Sexual Behaviour," by Adrian Lowe, The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 January 2012.
NOTE ADDED 12 MAY 2012:
Unbelievable! Some of the same school board people who allow unlimited porn on student school-supplied iPads are spraying Lysol® on students to stop them from dirty dancing! I kid you not:
- "Prom Chaperones Cited for Harassment," by KKTV 11 News, 11 KKTV, 9 May 2012.
- "Colorado Prom Chaperones Sprayed Lysol on Dirty Dancers, Teens Say," by Christina Ng, ABC News, Good Morning America, 11 May 2012.
- "Colo. Police Investigate 'Dirty Dancers' Complaint," by TheDenverChannel.com, Officer.com, 12 May 2012.
NOTE ADDED 13 MAY 2012:
"Too bad for the children, they are what they see." Famed Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh said that in his new song, the title track of his new album, "Analog Man." Listen here:
NOTE ADDED 20 DECEMBER 2012:
See also:
- "School Districts Must Filter School-Supplied iPads; Internet Safety Law Now Extends Filtering Beyond School Grounds, Thanks to Parents in Manitou Springs, Colorado," by Dan Kleinman, SafeLibraries, 20 December 2012.