Company Touts Device as Alternative to Filters

A new device that monitors Internet use may enable schools to meet the requirements of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) without having to install filtering software. ESniff, which can be plugged into school and library networks, uses so-called "context-sensitive" software to identify pornography, substance abuse, or hate-oriented messages. But the product doesn't block this content. Instead, eSniff (www.esniff.com) lets school officials document student Internet use, including Web sites, e-mail, and Instant Messaging, that might violate the school's acceptable use policy.

ESniff uses "packet sniffer" technology that evaluates text and images sent or received by students. Web pages and messages that step beyond school-determined boundaries are held on a hard drive for review and possible disciplinary action.

The Shoshone, ID, schools have been using eSniff for several months, and Walter Thueson, the district's librarian and information technology director, says he is very satisfied with its performance. Thueson spends 15 to 20 minutes twice a day monitoring eSniff logs for the 500-student school district. He says he's noticed that the number of students accessing or sending inappropriate material dropped rapidly in the first few weeks of eSniff use. Thueson monitors only a small number of potentially unsuitable sites or messages. "I never see e-mail unless students are threatening to harm each other or the school," he says. And he believes he can tell easily when the software misinterprets a message. For example, says Thueson, "I saw one student e-mailing another about a basketball game, and saying, 'I hope you kill 'em.' I knew to discard that one." So far, no one has complained about a possible invasion of privacy.

Mike Reagan, an eSniff senior vice president, says that interest in the product has risen since the passage of CIPA, which requires schools and libraries receiving e-rate funds to control young people's Internet access. In the past four months, nearly 50 schools have installed eSniff on their networks, Reagan says. ESniff plans to present the product to the Federal Communications Commission this summer to obtain its opinion on using the device to satisfy CIPA requirements.

Still, because it tracks the online use of individuals, eSniff raises privacy issues that might make it inappropriate for use in some schools and in public libraries. Nancy Willard of the group Responsible Netizen says that monitoring technology like eSniff is preferable to conventional Internet filtering and blocking software. But she believes such products should be used only in schools, where staff acts in loco parentis and can justify an invasion of privacy. "ESniff is totally unacceptable in the public library context," she says. "There are places and Internet systems where we should expect to have privacy—and places… where we should not."