Catholic University Bans, Then Unblocks Reddit

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By Patrick D. Lewis

Information technology officials at Catholic University have unblocked access to Reddit days after it was banned on school wifi.

Students began to notice the site had been blocked earlier this month. Several members of the Student Government Association, including Senators Jack Hermes, Felipe Avila, and Austin Janssen, condemned the move and announced plans to introduce an SGA resolution calling for it to be reversed. Avila, in a statement, said, “This creates a chilling effect on expression that extends to everyone: students, faculty, and staff. If we accept that the University can ban a platform like Reddit today, we open the door to removing any medium they find uncomfortable tomorrow.”

However, access to the popular social media platform was restored Tuesday. Karna Lozoya, University Vice President for Communications, told The Tower, “earlier this month, an automated monitoring system, during a routine scan, flagged and blocked Reddit.com from the University network due to its hosting of pornographic content.”

“The site was flagged in accord with a policy established in 2019—at the recommendation of the Student Government Association—to block access to the top pornography sites from the University network. Student leaders at the time noted their concerns about the risks of these sites, including exploitation of individuals, addiction, and security risks. These sites were almost exclusively dedicated to serving pornography.

“The University implemented an automated system that uses a 3rd party to supply a list of sites that serve pornography. That source recently added Reddit.com to its list, leading that domain name to be blocked. We understand that Reddit is not exclusively dedicated to serving pornography.

“In the interest of allowing access to its legitimate uses, access to Reddit.com has been restored to the campus network. However, the University is taking this opportunity to remind students of the need for prudence, and to avoid consuming exploitative and degrading content.”

It is unclear when exactly access to the site was restored.

The Tower is reaching out to Hermes, Avila, and Janssen for comment. This is developing story and we will update this article as the story develops.