April 28, 1997
If gatekeeping is in your future, you'd better create a policy -- now
By Bob O'Donnell
If a group of IS managers was to put together a softball team, what do you think they'd
name themselves? Well, if the moniker had anything to do with their function, I'd say this
year's sandlot sluggers would be dubbed the Gatekeepers.
The reason is more IS managers are finding themselves controlling the gate that
determines what kind of Internet-based information their users can access. An increasing
number of companies are rushing to develop, deploy, or at least study Internet access
policies. And that means lots of IS managers are finding themselves saddled with the task
of implementing solutions that limit or forbid Internet access for their users. It's
undoubtedly an awkward, unpopular, and uncomfortable position to be in.
But the truth is, some companies are finding their employees spending inordinate
amounts of time at sites that aren't work related. This isn't a new issue, of course, but
there seems to be a lot more interest in it recently by the general press. And that's
bound to have an impact on many corporations and their IS departments as they grapple with
the challenges of information management. The fact that there is now a thriving industry
that offers Web-site blocking products speaks volumes about the perceived problem in
today's corporate environments.
In fact, at least one company, Microsystems
Software, offers a corporate product called CyberPatrol Corporate that, in addition to
blocking the standard sex and violence sites, even limits access to sports and
entertainment sites. In a recent Wall Street Journal article, the product was
described as one that blocks access to "anything that might be construed as a
time-waster," including magazine and newswire-type sites. I guess that means us.
As soon as you start to limit access to certain types of information, some people will
cry "Censorship!" and nobody wants to be caught wearing the badge of a censor.
In fact, even the creators of these access-control products, such as Microsystems, argue
that they're opposed to the idea of censorship and point to their opposition to the
Communications Decency Act.
Some companies are unfazed by those accusations, however, and use their legal right to
restrict employees' access to certain information. In the corporate IS world there are
certainly many other precedents for that philosophy: Most corporate networks are built
around limited access where only certain people have access to certain files. So, one
might argue, isn't it logical to simply extend these principles to the Internet?
There are no easy or correct answers to this issue. I do find it rather interesting,
however, that an issue like this, which clearly transcends the boundaries of technology,
is being handled, in many cases, like a technology problem. Somehow, I don't think IS
training programs offer a whole lot on censorship, first amendment, and other individual
rights issues.
Given the amount of attention being given to Internet access policies, I think it would
be wise for all IS managers to figure out a restricted access plan. They may not need to
use it immediately, but when it becomes their turn to function as gatekeeper to the 'net,
at least they'll have some written rules.
©
Copyright 1997, by InfoWorld Publishing Corp., a
subsidiary of IDG Communications, Inc. Reprinted from InfoWorld,
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