In a letter to top officials at the Federal Communication Commission on Thursday, Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) and 13 other lawmakers asked the FCC to ensure that internet filtering software used at federally funded schools and libraries does not block LGBT-related content. 

From the letter:

A 2014 report by the LGBT Technology Partnership & Institute ‘Vision for Inclusion: An LGBT Broadband Future’ concluded that LGBT people are dependent on the Internet to meet a range of individual and social needs, which also makes them especially vulnerable to discriminatory Internet policies enacted by schools and libraries.

In an age when high-speed broadband is transforming almost every aspect of our lives, we must ensure online access to every adult and child. We are aware that you are in the midst of a proceeding to modernize the E-rate program. We encourage you to consider this problem in the course of this proceeding and adopt a solution to end this practice. For example, the Commission’s regulations could make clear that LGBT educational content should not be filtered in a discriminatory manner.

The letter was also co-signed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Human Rights Campaign, the LGBT Technology Partnership & Institute, GLAAD, GLSEN, The Trevor Project, and other organizations. 

Read the letter in full, AFTER THE JUMP…

And in related news, Ars Technica recently reported that American Airlines’ in-flight wifi was blocking the website misterbnb.com – a version of Airbnb that helps users find a gay-friendly place to stay – under the category of “adult-and-pornography.”

Hal Lonas, the chief technical officer at Webroot, said that according to Webroot’s records, Misterbnb has been blocked since March 2013, supposedly for multiple uses of the word “lesbian.” “The count was pretty high,” Lonas said. Webroot uses a count of words like these to identify sites as containing “adult” content, and that one criteria alone is enough to get a site filtered. Since that time, according to Lonas, Misterbnb has been lingering in American Airline’s Gogo Wi-Fi content filter, waiting for someone to navigate to the site and then find the right person to speak to about the error.

Lonas told Ars that Webroot relies on keywords, apparently sometimes on keywords alone, to filter content. He said medical websites sometimes get caught in the filters the same way Misterbnb did, noting that Webroot does take complaints from partners or customers about what to whitelist or change in its approach. “We’re not anti-gay or anti-LGBT, we don’t have an agenda,” he said. “Of several hundred suggestions for changes (to filtering choices), four or five percent might be false positives.” Terms that surround gay culture just conveniently happen to be a statistically effective way of blocking pornography, according to Webroot.

BY KYLER GEOFFROY

A weekly round-up of the best tech, science, and geek-related news from around the web.

 Lots of drone-related news this week, as Facebook revealed further plans for the creation of thousands of jumbo jet-sized, internet-connected drones come 2015. “The team is focused on developing countries, prioritizing the number of people who are not connected. Maguire cited India as an example, where more than 15% of people don’t have any connectivity whatsoever. They’ve identified a set of about 21 countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia, which actually affect how the planes are designed — that is, how the sun hits the solar panels.”

 Similarly, Cirque du Soleil is also branching out into the world of drones with ‘Sparked’ – a new flying dance performance featuring quadcopters. Check out the mesmerizing video below: 

 Aiden Gillen (aka Game of Thrones‘ Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish) joins Maze Runner sequel as its villain. 

 Openly gay supervillain/superhero Pied Piper has been confirmed for a “midseason” appearance in the upcoming The Flash television series starring Grant Gustin as the titular speedster. 

 Comcast president Neil Smit admits it “may take years” to improve the company’s crappy customer service reputation. 

 The fan-favorite Pixar Theory – the theory that all Pixar films are connected and occur in the same universe – now has a video explanation. 

 Apple CEO Tim Cook says tackling global warming is a “core value” of the company – “The long-term consequences of not addressing climate are huge, I don’t think anyone can overstate that.”

 In other Apple news: you’ve likely heard about Bendgate – the “controversy” over the malleability of the newly released iPhone 6 Plus. YouTube user Lewis Hilsenteger has already demonstrated how relatively easy it is to bend the deluxe sized smartphone, but he’s back now with a new video to show how the competition holds up under the pressure (including the regular iPhone 6). Check out his video below:

 How to tell if that letter you received in the mail was written by a robot or human. 

 Are Earthships – sustainable solar homes made from old junk – the future of green living? 

 Ridley Scott says Prometheus 2 will be completely devoid of Aliens. 

 Scientists have discovered water vapor on a Neptune-sized planet 124 light years away from Earth, the first time an exoplanet smaller than Jupiter has been found with H20. 

 Behold, the perfectly engineered ice cream scoop. 

 Solar power, vehicle automation, and 8 other technologies that will revolutionize car manufacturing. 

 Find out what the world looks like from your dog’s perspective with Fetch – a GoPro harness that enables your pet to become a little Steven Spielberg of his or her own.

 Introducing the latest addition to the growing wearable tech field: drone bracelets. 

 South Africa will soon be able to “Share Happiness” over the internet, as Coca-Cola has started sticking wi-fi hotspots inside the country’s vending machines.

 Watch Wolfram Alpha search engine creator Stephen Wolfram explain why humans will one day be able to live forever.