IT company Lightspeed made the announcement yesterday, after the
American Civil Liberties Union claimed it was doing a disservice to
lesbian and gay students.
Earlier this year, it was reported that
the company's overly-sensitive filter was accidentally blocking
access to non-sexual gay sites such as the Gay Straight Alliance
Network, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network and the
official website for the annual Day of Silence to protest anti-LGBT
bullying.
Now, the computer company have vowed to amend the filter's
design to allow students to access non-sexual sites.
The decision will affect as many as fifteen school districts and
has been welcomed by equality activists.
"Lightspeed Systems should be
commended for responding quickly and responsibly to fix a problem
that we have seen in school districts across the county," Joshua
Block, staff attorney with the ACLU LGBT Project, told the Windy
City Times.
"Websites should not be singled out for special treatment by
public schools simply because they contain LGBT content.
Educational websites addressing LGBT history should be treated
similarly to other history websites, and websites urging support
for the rights of LGBT people should be treated similarly to other
political websites.
"Lightspeed's new categories will
ensure that all public school students have viewpoint-neutral
access to important online resources."
