ADL Releases First-of-Its-Kind Educational Filter Software to 'Keep Hate Out of Homes'.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 11, 1998--In its continued effort to combat hate on the Internet, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has released a first-of-its-kind educational filter software product.

ADL HateFilter(TM) provides users not only with the option of screening out hate sites, but is unique in that it also provides a link to obtain information about the anti-Semitic, racist and extremist individuals and groups who espouse their dangerous and divisive views on the Internet.

"Parents should be able to protect their children from hate by keeping bigotry and prejudice out of their homes," said Howard P. Berkowitz, ADL National Chairman.

"Bigots are seducing our children with on-line messages presented in full-color animation with music and video, all designed to mask the hideous face of hate and attract and influence young people. As the enormous power of the Internet expands, so does this dark side of technology," continued Berkowitz.

Barbara H. Bergen, ADL's Regional Director is concerned that youngsters are exposed to bigotry masquerading as facts via their home computers.

"People in the community are concerned that when their children are researching World War II and/or the Holocaust they often access hate sites that spew distortions and intolerance. Parents should be able to protect their children from unbridled bigotry," said Bergen.

"ADL is recognized for its expertise in identifying and tracking extremists and it is appropriate for us to offer that expertise to parents for the benefit of their children," added Bergen.

ADL HateFilter is a software product designed to act as a gatekeeper. It gives parents who voluntarily download it the option of protecting their children by blocking access to specific hate sites without interfering with anyone's ability to create a site on the World Wide Web.

The sites filtered are those that in ADL's judgment, advocate hatred, bigotry or even violence towards Jews or other groups on the basis of their religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or other immutable characteristics. Some examples include the National Alliance, Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, the White Pride Network, and the Institute for Historical Review.

It is also the first filter product to offer to redirect the user from repulsive bigotry to educational information, and the first filter produced by a non-commercial organization.

ADL HateFilter does not just block sites, it encourages parents to teach their children about the nature of bigotry and the hatemongers identified by ADL who promote it. When ADL HateFilter blocks access to a site, parents can visit ADL's web site with their children and, with a simple password, unblock a site to look at and evaluate together.

As the leading authority on hate on the Internet, ADL's published reports include High-Tech Hate: Extremist Use of the Internet, The Web of Hate and Warning Hate Zone: A Parent's Guide, all based on findings from the League's fulltime Internet Monitoring Unit.

ADL HateFilter uses the filtering technology of Cyber Patrol, the most innovative filtering software in the country.

Cyber Patrol developed and published by The Learning Company, Inc., is used by millions of parents and teachers to protect children from inappropriate content on-line and is the filtering technology used by America Online, AT & T Worldnet, CompuServe, Prodigy and hundreds of ISPs worldwide.

The Learning Company is one of the country's leading developers of consumer software for the entire family and publishes some of the best-known education, reference, personal productivity and family entertainment brands in the U.S.

The ADL HateFilter can be downloaded to your computer from the ADL web site at www.adl.org

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.

Note to Editors: For additional information about ADL HateFilter and to arrange interviews with ADL experts contact Barbara H. Bergen at 415/981-3500.