404 Day

404 Day is a worldwide holiday devoted to the problem of excessive censorship of Internet information in public schools and libraries. This approach is intended to protect children from viewing obscene material, but the system is flawed and students are often blocked from accessing sites with educational or instructional information. The holiday is designed to correct this misunderstanding! It is celebrated annually on April 4.

History

The story of 404 Day begins with the activists of E.F.F. – is a foundation that monitors resources on the Internet. In 2005, the U.S. government, based on the Children’s Internet Protection Act, implemented a system of filtering Internet resources in schools and libraries. The main idea was to prevent underage users from viewing pornographic or other inappropriate content.

Unfortunately, the implementation leaves much to be desired. Children often cannot access sites with educational and instructive information that is not prohibited by the Constitution. For example, access to sites with articles about sex education, various diseases, and the harms of tobacco and alcohol are blocked because they are recognized by the filtering system as not intended for children. This is a problem that needs to be solved. This is exactly the purpose for which the holiday was created!

Interesting facts

• The name of the holiday, firstly, corresponds to the error 404, reflected on the site, to which access is denied, and secondly, coincides with the date of the celebration (4/04).
• The 404 code was created in 1992 to display a ban on users accessing the site. It is usually accompanied by “Server Not Found”.
• The Children’s Internet Protection Act has been in effect since 2000.

How to celebrate

Contact the E.F.F. if you or your children have had problems accessing sites with necessary information because they have been filtered out. Society needs to talk about the problem, only then can it be solved.

Spread the word about the holiday on social media. Find out from users, do they support the holiday initiative? What way out of the situation can they suggest?

When is 404 Day celebrated in 2024?

404 Day is observed on April 4 each year.

Observations