Security Company Criticized For Lifting Block On Gay Websites
An online safe-search filtering company is receiving criticism from conservative family groups after it announced Tuesday that it would be unblocking access to gay advocacy websites.
The online security firm Symantec had previously blocked websites for mainstream gay and lesbian advocacy groups in an attempt to protect viewers from potentially graphic or obscene images on the internet. This week, however, the tech company announced that it had unblocked the websites because it was the "right thing to do."
"Making this change was not only the right thing to do, it was a good business decision," Fran Rosch, executive vice president of the Norton Business Unit at Symantec, said in a statement released Tuesday.
"Having a category in place that could be used to filter out all LGBT-oriented sites was inconsistent with Symantec's values and the mission of our software."
The move has been blasted by conservative groups like the American Family Association, with analyst Bryan Fischer saying internet surfers should have the option to not view pro-gay websites, which his group argues can be used as propaganda from younger generations.
"Symantec is simply wrong to deny their customers this option," Fischer said.
GLAAD, a national LGBT advocacy group, has welcomed Symantec's move, with GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis saying the change shows the tech company "gets it."
"It's time that our software reflects our values, and that means filtering out discrimination," Ellis added. The American Civil Liberties Union had previously started a "Don't Filter Me" campaign to encourage internet security systems to drop their blocks on gay advocacy sites.
