Blue Coat Statement on Use of "LGBT" Category in Blue Coat WebFilter product
It has come to our attention that some of our customers may be blocking the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (“LGBT”) category in the belief that the websites in this category contain sexually explicit content.
In an effort to further clarify that the LGBT category is not intended to capture sexually explicit content, we have updated the category's description as follows:
Websites that provide reference materials, news, legal information, anti-bullying and suicide-prevention information, and other resources for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ("LGBT") people or that relate to LGBT civil rights. The websites included in this category were selected because they do not contain sexually explicit content and are generally suitable for viewing by all age groups.
Customers – including schools, libraries, and other public institutions – do not need to block the LGBT category to prevent users from accessing sexually explicit content, whether LGBT-related or otherwise. WebFilter contains separate and distinct categories for sexually explicit content and other adult material (e.g., Adult/Mature Content, Alternative Sexuality/Lifestyles, Nudity and Pornography), which can be blocked to prevent access to sexually explicit content. Further, blocking the LGBT category is not recommended as a tool for public institutions to comply with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (“CIPA”).
We will continue to review the efficacy of our Blue Coat WebFilter categories and the descriptions of the content within those categories as the needs of our customers evolve. Customers with questions about managing their configurations or removing category blocks can contact Blue Coat technical support for further information.
We strive to ensure that our categorization of websites is as accurate and up-to-date as possible. We encourage users to review our categorization of any particular website at http://sitereview.bluecoat.com and to notify us if any website is believed to be incorrectly categorized.