cashinmattress Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 Link In a move that smacks of the draconian Internet laws in place in countries like Australia, the UK government has plans to ask ISPs to block all pornography from home Internet connections by default, it’s reported today. Under the plan, customers would have to ask the ISP for access to pornography.The Sunday Times reports [paywalled link] that the UK’s largest ISPs will be called to a meeting next month to discuss the idea, which is being presented as a way of stopping children from accessing porn. Quoted in the story, Conservative MP Claire Perry describes the current Internet as the “Wild west”. “We are not coming at this from an anti-porn perspective. We just want to make sure our children aren’t stumbling across things we don’t want them to see.” The Sunday Times says the government is pushing for this despite the UK’s Internet Services Providers’ Association saying in the past that such a block would be expensive and technically difficult. Does this sound insane to you? It does to us. While most people probably don’t want children exposed to porn, the idea of blocking it at source is hairbrained on a number of levels: * How do you define porn? Sure, some sites are obviously explicit but what about sites which cover the academic study of pornography? What about message boards like 4chan which cover a wide range of topics including porn? Where is the line? * If you do block sites which cover porn among other subjects, where do you stop? It’s potentially letting Internet censorship in through the back door. * Adults shouldn’t be stigmatised for viewing porn. Forcing them to contact their ISPs for “permission” does that. No, we’ll take end-users choosing their own child protection measures over a ‘Nanny state’ approach. It’s worth noting that the minister behind this reported plan is Ed Vaizey, who last month made comments that called the future of net neutrality in the UK into question, even if he later claimed to have been misunderstood. Things are changing at a breakneck speed. Raw story link Fears over Internet freedom as UK plans to expand web censorshipAs Britain finds itself in the middle of the political maelstrom surrounding WikiLeaks' Julian Assange, and the debate over Internet freedom resulting from his arrest on an Interpol warrant, British authorities are stepping up their efforts to wield more control over the Internet. The UK's coalition government is discussing a plan that would see all pornographic websites automatically blocked in an effort to keep children from accessing them. Under the proposed plan, which appears to have the backing of Britain's major Internet service providers, the government would provide ISPs a list of objectionable websites, which the ISPs would automatically block. An Internet surfer would then have to "opt in" to be allowed to see the content. Communications Minister Ed Vaizey says it's a useful step in preventing the premature sexualization of children. He cites a report earlier this year that showed three in 10 British children aged 10 had seen pornography online. "We are not coming at this from an anti-porn perspective. We just want to make sure children aren't stumbling across things we don't want them to see," Conservative member of parliament Claire Perry said. But critics say it's one more step in an effort by governments around the world to seize control of the Internet. They say the system would inevitably be used to restrict access to non-pornographic websites. The British website block list, if it's implemented, would be based on an existing filter mechanism that blocks access to child pornography sites. That system, put into place several years ago, is being hailed as a resounding success in reducing access to illegal porn. Internet activists point out that these block lists have already been abused in some countries. In Australia, for instance, a government block list -- which officials said would be used only to block illegal content -- was found to have targeted religious and political websites. The list was even used to block parts of WikiLeaks. (Final implementation of the "Great Firewall of Australia" has been delayed until after the 2011 election.) Some activists argue that the efforts to protect children are simply a politically palatable way to get the public to accept government control over the Internet. However, in the US, government plans to take greater control over Internet content have been focused on copyright protection, rather than children. A proposed law before Congress this fall would see the government granted powers to block access to websites that are deemed to have infringed on copyright law. The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) has been criticized as a heavy-handed attempt at censorship that would allow officials to block access to an entire site if an instance of copyright infringement is found. So, for example, the entire YouTube domain could theoretically be blocked if a video on the site is found to be violating copyright. Although COICA was blocked from passing through the lame-duck session of Congress by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), it may yet be revived in the new congressional session. Meanwhile, Britain's Internet service providers are showing signs they support the effort at creating a porn site block list. Andrew Heaney of wireless carrier TalkTalk said his company's objective was "not to do what the politicians want us but to do what is right for our customers." But, he added, "If other companies aren't going to do it of their own volition, then maybe they should be leant on." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interestrateripoff Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 Pretty soon they will block everything and all you will have access to is govt approved propaganda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tankus Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 thats the end of the star and sun then ........... hurrah ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobloblob Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 Trojan horse. Much easier to ban other stuff once you have started the process off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunK BeaR Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 I thought this thread was a wind up when i saw the title. Bugger! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepLurker Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 Trojan horse. Much easier to ban other stuff once you have started the process off. +1 See the wikileaks exposure of the Australian web blacklist for an example of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porca misèria Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 So what's new? Not the idea of blocking porn - we've had that for years. I recollect blogging about it myself two years ago (here) when Big Brother scored a great big own goal by blocking something at Wikipedia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone baby gone Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 Heh, so kids will be texting each other the URL of porn sites that aren't on the blacklist. Or using a free proxy. Interestingly, most mobile networks have an "under 18" bar that blocks access to porn, gambling websites, etc unless you are old enough. In some cases, you have to ask for the bar to be lifted, it's not automatic (as I guess a contract phone paid for by some who is 40 could actually be for use of a young teen). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interestrateripoff Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 Trojan horse. Much easier to ban other stuff once you have started the process off. Yep you can blame looking at X will lead you to looking at porn and it must be stopped for the good of the people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDW Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 Bad Move, If I can't spend the evening spanking my monkey, I may as well go out and stir up trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianb78 Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 To be honest I think this is a good idea. Exposure to unlimited porn is unhealthy and bad for the soul. It can be highly addictive too. Get rid of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dances with sheeple Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 Link Things are changing at a breakneck speed. Raw story link The academic study of pornography yeah right guys! The problem is not porn (involving consenting adults only) the problem is the idea that you have to be a sexual object / little consumer unit to matter, the porn sites are not to blame for that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juvenal Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 What about property porn? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athe Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 What about property porn? We can but hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krackersdave Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 First step to imposing a porn tax? 1) Block all 2)"invite" users to "Apply" for access 3) TAX said "users" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athe Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 First step to imposing a porn tax? 1) Block all 2)"invite" users to "Apply" for access 3) TAX said "users" Wouldn't it just be easier to tax 35% of everyone's internet use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrashedOutAndBurned Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 I remember way back when the net was becoming more mainstream that there was controversy over some of the early 'Cyber Nanny' type programs coming out of America, with pages about things like Jane Eyre being banned for being 'feminist' and so on. As soon as you filter the net for anything, it'll be filtered for something else, then something else, and so on... Also there are data protection implications. Would you like to be on a leaked list of names that's ticked the box that says you'd like to see horse porn? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyoto Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 Wouldn't it just be easier to tax 35% of everyone's internet use. Just 35%? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athe Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 Just 35%? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Woods? Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 Looks like the UK has learnt from the Australian experience. Their spin is much slicker, "no we aren't banning porn, but you will have to ring up and get your name put on the potential sex offenders list..." Thin end of the wedge as per usual. I hate the authoritarian pr*cks in charge of us all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interestrateripoff Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 Looks like the UK has learnt from the Australian experience. Their spin is much slicker, "no we aren't banning porn, but you will have to ring up and get your name put on the potential sex offenders list..." Thin end of the wedge as per usual. I hate the authoritarian pr*cks in charge of us all. I had that uneasy feeling as well. Once you tick the box will your porn surfing then be saved to check what you are viewing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krackersdave Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 Wouldn't it just be easier to tax 35% of everyone's internet use. That's already happening ain't under one of Mandy's laws - but it's a small charge to cover development of the broadband in the uk (yeah right). But you're right - it's not about money is it - I mean who gets to create the blacklist of "sex" sites eh? Will Wikileaks find itself on that list perhaps, or any other site TPTB don't want anyone to view? Very suspicous timing innit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oracle Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 That's already happening ain't under one of Mandy's laws - but it's a small charge to cover development of the broadband in the uk (yeah right). But you're right - it's not about money is it - I mean who gets to create the blacklist of "sex" sites eh? quoting this stuff and peter mandelson in the same sentence is a bit of an oxymoron isn't it? wonder what his google-searches would be ..maybe someone who frequents the site and has a penchent for data-mining would like to enlighten us! jolly roger's cabin boys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fellow Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 I had better start downloading everything to my hard drive while I still can! Will they use this as an excuse to block torrent sites, as these can be used to download porn? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledgehead Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 To be honest I think this is a good idea. Exposure to unlimited porn is unhealthy and bad for the soul. It can be highly addictive too. Get rid of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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