Cloudflare stops offering to block LGBTQ webpages
- Reference: 1621578968
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/05/21/cloudflare_lgbtq_filtering/
- Source link:
It kicked off when Henry Cole, a UK-based IT analyst, challenged Cloudflare on Twitter. He said that when he was configuring a DNS policy for Gateway to block websites by content type, one of the "Society & Lifestyle" categories that could be filtered out was [1]LGBTQ . Gateway can be set up by organizations to monitor and control their users' traffic, so that malicious content is blocked, problematic uploads are stopped, and so on.
"Swap LGBTQ for Black or any other protected characteristic, and you can see that this really doesn't look great on you," he [2]wrote .
[3]
[4]
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Cloudflare quickly agreed. SVP Dane Knecht thanked Cole and [6]said , "That shouldn’t have been the case. We’re removing [it] now. I will update the thread once it has been rolled out."
Knecht blamed third-party vendors for the snafu. "We don't categorize sites internally," he said. "We purchase categorization from several external sources."
Cloudflare did not respond to a request for comment, and no thread update has yet to be posted, but "LGBTQ" is no longer available as a Gateway DNS Content Category setting.
[7]
Nonetheless, current menu options might still be worth reviewing. Providing customers with the ability to block access to information about "Abortion" or "Religion," for example, seems controversial, particularly from a company that has [8]championed free speech and tried to avoid content policing .
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Click to enlarge
In a phone interview, Alexis Hancock, director of engineering with the EFF's CertBot project, told The Register that while this incident was dealt with quickly, it's still significant given Cloudflare's size and reach.
Keyword and content-based filtering, she said, has proven problematic over the years, particularly when governments have become involved and tried to force organizations and individuals to censor certain terms.
"This automated list included LGBTQ and something like that can have direct consequences on that group," she said.
[10]Cloudflare family-friendly DNS service flubs first filtering foray: Vital LGBTQ, sex-ed sites blocked 'by mistake'
[11]Firefox, you know you tapped Cloudflare for DNS-over-HTTPS? In January, it briefly knackered two root servers at the heart of the internet
[12]Cloudflare reheats network-as-a-service buffet with WAN plan
[13]Cloudflare experiments with hidden Tor services
[14]Welcome to the splinternet – where freedom of expression is suppressed and repressed, and Big Brother is watching
Facebook's habit of labeling users with sensitive interest categories illustrates that point in a different context: advertising rather than web filtering. A [15]2019 study found the social ad biz labelled 67 per cent of users with potential sensitive interests for ad targeting. It also noted "that many FB users are tagged with the interest 'Homosexuality' in countries where being homosexual is illegal and may even be punished with the death penalty."
A year prior, Facebook [16]said advertising should not be used for discrimination and removed some 5,000 targeting categories. It further [17]trimmed available categories in 2020.
Acknowledging that certain forms of filtering can be helpful, Hancock described the process as a double-edged sword because filters can be applied in a harmful way. Companies as big as Cloudflare, she said, need a due diligence process to ensure they understand the data they're using.
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On the positive side, she said, at least the user had the ability to choose filtering categories and identify the problem. "Many users wouldn't be able to catch it so easily," she said, noting that many companies don't give employees a choice.
"If you're doing something [at Cloudflare's scale], it needs to have lots of transparency," Hancock said. "And give users the ability to choose." ®
Get our [19]Tech Resources
[1] https://gaycenter.org/about/lgbtq/
[2] https://twitter.com/henrycole/status/1395133054667137024?s=20
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YKeEwK31FVxo4C7U2tCkZAAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YKeEwK31FVxo4C7U2tCkZAAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YKeEwK31FVxo4C7U2tCkZAAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://twitter.com/dok2001/status/1395140312113221632?s=20
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YKeEwK31FVxo4C7U2tCkZAAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2017/08/16/cloudflare_ceo_daily_stormer/
[9] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/05/20/cloudflare_filtering.jpg
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2020/04/01/cloudflare_familyfriendly_dns_service_flubs/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2020/02/26/cloudflare_isc_f_dns_root/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/22/cloudflare_magic_wan/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2018/06/06/cloudflare_experiments_with_hidden_tor_services/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2021/01/04/welcome_to_the_splinternet/
[15] https://arxiv.org/abs/1907.10672
[16] https://www.facebook.com/business/news/reviewing-targeting-to-ensure-advertising-is-safe-and-civil
[17] https://www.facebook.com/business/news/update-to-facebook-ads-targeting-categories/
[18] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YKeEwK31FVxo4C7U2tCkZAAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[19] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Social outrage aside.
I can understand why there may be a filter for LGBTQ content.
Go to Google images. Switch off all content and age filters and search for "lesbians". Then do the same search for "women", then again for "men", then finally try "straight".
Report back when you know which one is NSFW.
Statistically, it's one of the most popular keywords for porn and adult content.
I doubt Cloudflare set up the filter to outrage gay people. They set it up because, unfortunately, statistically searching quite a few LGBTQ keywords will result in porn.
thanks for speaking truths, and not continued incitement of more hate like the writer of this article did with the sub title.
Filters are a difficult business. All we as engineers have to go on is statistics and testing to create them. Sure, sometimes we give our filters dumb names (just like our servers, I'm rebooting Gandalf now).
It's morons that apply some sort of underlying malice or dark reasoning behind them.
Porn accounts for something like 40% of all internet searches, it is by far the most searched topic. Therefore as an engineer it's sensible to assume that the primary purpose of a filter is to remove adult content.
Not once in my 20 year career has someone come to me and said "mate, we really have to block all that gay stuff online, the stuff that is getting through is just too damned gay". It's absurd. Just say that line out loud to yourself and you'll realise how rediculous it is for a filter to exist to make someone's internet experience less gay.
On the other hand "Straight woman" for me returns nothing but porn. And no, my search history is one of the things wiped when I close my browser.
Then the filter should block adult content. You've made a stupid argument and you know it.
No I haven't. I've set up many workplace porn filters and lesbian porn frequently gets through standard adult filters. That's why I chose that specific keyword. Google image searches dont flag themselves as NSFW if you turn safesearch off.
Lesbian is an ambiguous keyword. Whereas words like "fucking", "porn" and so on are not.
Let's not forget some of the pranks that have existed over the years because of ambiguous keywords. Goatse, Lemon Party, Tubgirl etc. These were specifically geared up to bypass filters.
It's incredibly naive to think that filters exist specifically for the oppression of specific groups.
That's why you have a separate filter for porn, problem solved without blocking LGBTQ content. You can pretty much search anything on the internet and get porn. Rule 34.
The problem is caused by Cloudflare providing service internationally. Differing countries have different social norms & legal requirements.
e.g. In China, Tiananmen Square is a restricted topic. In the rest of the world it's not.
Cloudflare stops offering to block LGBTQ webpages
what about the 'plus'?
Re: Cloudflare stops offering to block LGBTQ webpages
The + is just a socially constructed concept in order to further confuse that weren't already confused with the Q..
Filters are good actually
If people don't want to see certain content, this is good and should be supported and encouraged.
If some conservative want to not hear anything about people they consider immoral, I'm all for it! Why do you want to make this person angry? The only benefit to not allowing people to block certain categories is inciting outrage that you can then react against.
This isn't even about Cloudflare kicking LGBTQ people off their platform, this is about self-determining your internet landscape. There is no censorship angle - as I keep being told, free speech does not entitle you to an audience.
Honestly, if people had been able to block black people from their perception during the Civil Rights era, I think it would have been a less bloody conflict, and have achieved the same outcome.
The part where it gets problematic here, imo, is parents blocking content for their children, not for their own use. Unfortunately, this may also be the most common use. I am incredibly conflicted about this, leaning somewhat against. But the general concept of blocking LGBTQ topics for your own consumption is good and valid.
Religion and porn
If you offer a filter for porn it makes sense to also offer a filter for religion. Both are best not consumed by minors who are not fully able put them and their consequences into context. Both can be a source of joy and inspiration for some but I'd rather not have my son stumble upon porn or religion before he's sixteen or so.
Hmm
Sounds like a category that makes sense to be on a filter. Its the person paying for the service who gets to choose what they want available, they dont get to inflict that on other adults.
To each their own.
I've not used cloudflare blocking, but I have always understood categories exist to allow for blocking, or allowing depending on the overarching policy. I appreciate it may seem inappropriate, but in heavily governed internet feeds categorisation of sites is really useful for multiple reasons and the assumption they're only used for blocking is in my view incorrect.