Google encrypted search - implications for schools and ISPs
Google's recent decision to launch a secure search facility caused major problems for educational internet service providers such as Regional Broadband Consortia and local authorities, and in the US introduced problems for school districts and states that could even affect their e-Rate funding, as reported on eSchoolNews . So they are to be commended for responding relatively quickly to the problems they had introduced. But have they gone far enough? Delivering a safe Internet experience to schools has always been challenging. I spent 5 years doing it, and it was the hardest part of educational internet service provision to get right. Offering users the facility to hide what they are searching for from their service provider has a number of implications for educational ISPs: They will be unable to filter based on search terms It removes the ability for them to analyse or report on search behaviour across their networks When Google first introduced the...