Petion against the government's automatic adult content filter.

[silver_sun]

There is a petition here about the government's adult content internet filter that will be coming to everybody in the UK's internet connection unless they opt out by October this year.

http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-government-specified-internet-filtering-and-search-blacklisting?source=facebook-share-button&time=1375177110

They called it a porn filter designed to keep children safe of the net. It's is more than that. Here's just a few of the things that are likely to be included in the filter.

Categories of materials that may be blocked include violent material, extremist related content, anorexia and eating disorder websites, suicide related websites, alcohol, smoking, and even web forums and so-called "esoteric material" (see http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/27/pornwall). Cameron's proposed filters extend to more than just porn (Wired UK) www.wired.co.uk


Using search terms to block these things will result in help websites potentially being blocked. Also who gets to decide what is extreme? and esoteric material - how do you even begin to classify that one?

I mean if you take it literally you could ban all the news websites - after all they all seem to have information about terrorism and crime on them. Surely that must encourage people to commit similar crimes?

They wouldn't touch the news sites at the moment, but it wouldn't surprise me if sites like the BBC and ITV started to produce a family friendly news site - after all a lot of children find what's going on in the new distressing. Newspapers online have been looking for a reason to charge per view, what better reason than making the content age restricted?

It's protecting children and helping businesses, so it's good for the economy. What's not to like? (Sarcasm goes here.)

Comments

[angstosaur.livejournal.com]

As an adult without children I am beyond irritated at having my freedom to browse adult sites censored automatically ... responsible parents can install internet protection as they wish... and Cameron's ideas of what we should be allowed to access will actually infringe on my teaching of biology never mind anything else... it's dangerous when politicians decide what we can see and read ... the days of D H Lawrence's Lady Chattersley's Lover being banned are all coming back ....

and, there are always ways around censorship as I found out when I lived in Dubai with government censored internet access - any site with the word sex was banned, including any reference to Essex, Sussex, Middlesex etc ... even sending emails with the word sex were blocked, even in attachments ...

these plans will not protect children, responsible parenthood protects children ... as you say, news items alone can cause enough distress to adults, never mind children and there's open access to that everywhere...

[twcardiff.livejournal.com]

I feel bad for you. :-(Hope it won't come over here.