<s>
SurfWatch	B-Protocol
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
was	O
a	O
Los	O
Altos	O
,	O
CA-based	O
company	O
which	O
pioneered	O
the	O
first	O
widely	O
available	O
filtering	O
software	O
that	O
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
block	O
explicit	O
content	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
disallowing	O
computers	O
from	O
accessing	O
specified	O
sites	O
and	O
by	O
screening	O
for	O
newsgroups	O
likely	O
to	O
contain	O
sexually	O
explicit	O
material	O
,	O
SurfWatch	B-Protocol
was	O
able	O
to	O
aid	O
parents	O
,	O
educators	O
and	O
employers	O
in	O
preventing	O
access	O
to	O
offensive	O
material	O
from	O
a	O
specific	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Apple	B-Device
Macintosh	I-Device
version	O
of	O
SurfWatch	B-Protocol
1.0	O
was	O
developed	O
starting	O
in	O
1994	O
,	O
first	O
shipped	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
in	O
May	O
1995	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
followed	O
by	O
the	O
Microsoft	O
version	O
in	O
July	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
helping	O
to	O
overturn	O
the	O
Communications	O
Decency	O
Act	O
,	O
as	O
they	O
offered	O
an	O
alternative	O
to	O
internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
Surfwatch	B-Protocol
gave	O
users	O
a	O
choice	O
as	O
to	O
what	O
should	O
be	O
blocked	O
,	O
it	O
offered	O
an	O
alternative	O
to	O
broad	O
censorship	O
of	O
online	O
material	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Surfwatch	B-Protocol
has	O
been	O
criticized	O
by	O
Peacefire	O
for	O
unfairly	O
blocking	O
gay	O
and	O
lesbian	O
resource	O
sites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Surfwatch	B-Protocol
was	O
founded	O
by	O
Ann	O
Duvall	O
,	O
Bill	O
Duvall	O
,	O
and	O
Jay	O
Friedland	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ann	O
Duvall	O
,	O
President	O
of	O
SurfWatch	B-Protocol
software	O
had	O
performed	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
roles	O
in	O
high-tech	O
prior	O
to	O
her	O
involvement	O
with	O
SurfWatch	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bill	O
Duvall	O
,	O
CEO	O
of	O
Surfwatch	B-Protocol
,	O
had	O
been	O
previously	O
involved	O
in	O
founding	O
and	O
developing	O
technology	O
companies	O
for	O
30	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
their	O
work	O
on	O
SurfWatch	B-Protocol
,	O
Bill	O
Duvall	O
and	O
Ann	O
Duvall	O
have	O
gone	O
on	O
to	O
create	O
“	O
ChoosetheBlue.com,	O
”	O
a	O
website	O
that	O
provided	O
information	O
as	O
to	O
which	O
companies	O
had	O
employees	O
that	O
primarily	O
supported	O
democratic	O
candidates	O
and	O
which	O
companies	O
had	O
employees	O
who	O
primarily	O
supported	O
republican	O
candidates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jay	O
Friedland	O
,	O
who	O
acted	O
as	O
Vice	O
President	O
of	O
Marketing	O
and	O
Sales	O
had	O
15	O
years	O
of	O
experience	O
in	O
high-tech	O
management	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
SurfWatch	B-Protocol
's	O
creation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Those	O
who	O
opposed	O
the	O
measure	O
believed	O
that	O
censorship	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Internet	I-Application
was	O
an	O
infringement	O
on	O
their	O
right	O
to	O
free	O
speech	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
the	O
legislation	O
,	O
SurfWatch	B-Protocol
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
only	O
companies	O
offering	O
an	O
Internet	O
filter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
majority	O
of	O
the	O
technology	O
industry	O
believed	O
the	O
best	O
way	O
to	O
shield	O
children	O
from	O
inappropriate	O
content	O
was	O
,	O
as	O
journalist	O
Steve	O
Lohr	O
put	O
it	O
,	O
“	O
with	O
specialized	O
software	O
,	O
enabling	O
parents	O
to	O
block	O
access	O
to	O
certain	O
computer-network	O
traffic.	O
”	O
Thus	O
,	O
as	O
an	O
alternative	O
to	O
complete	O
Internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
,	O
software	O
such	O
as	O
SurfWatch	B-Protocol
played	O
a	O
key	O
role	O
in	O
the	O
overturning	O
of	O
the	O
1996	O
Communications	O
Decency	O
Act	O
,	O
for	O
it	O
provided	O
Internet	O
users	O
to	O
limit	O
access	O
controlled	O
audiences	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
limiting	O
the	O
whole	O
of	O
Internet	O
content	O
to	O
all	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SurfWatch	B-Protocol
was	O
acquired	O
by	O
Spyglass	B-Application
,	I-Application
Inc	I-Application
.	I-Application
in	O
May	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spyglass	O
later	O
sold	O
SurfWatch	B-Protocol
to	O
JSB	O
Software	O
Technologies	O
,	O
who	O
merged	O
the	O
software	O
with	O
its	O
own	O
SurfControl	B-Application
division	O
,	O
with	O
plans	O
to	O
continue	O
the	O
software	O
's	O
service	O
to	O
clients	O
such	O
as	O
Microsoft	O
Corp	O
's	O
WebTV	O
,	O
Comcast	O
Corp	O
,	O
Worldgate	O
,	O
Excite	O
@Home	O
,	O
American	O
Interactive	O
Media	O
and	O
NTL	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2007	O
Websense	O
acquired	O
SurfControl	B-Application
.	O
</s>
