Porn Filters

(31-07-2013 20:49 )MONEY BANG Wrote:  MI5 also have the ability to spy on you via web cam enabled Smart TV's, when I heard this the other week I threw my 50 inch Plasma in the dump, it was less than two years old. Gone back to using an old CRT.

Nothing would surprise me now. I was shocked to discover that chrome is effectively spyware, plus all emails sent by gmail are scanned by google to make a record of their contents making nothing private anymore.

Some interesting comments on this matter from one of the founders of wikipedia,, who is also a government advisor :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23558865

(02-08-2013 21:34 )way out west Wrote:  Nothing would surprise me now. I was shocked to discover that chrome is effectively spyware, plus all emails sent by gmail are scanned by google to make a record of their contents making nothing private anymore.

gmail is the only email provider that scans the content of your private emails, and this is one of the reasons why I will never use gmail or any google product or anything related to google at all.

(25-07-2013 13:23 )elgar1uk Wrote:  According to Talktalk when their new customers are asked about the filters with a pop up box 30% choose to activate them.

When the new policy comes in next year, with filters turned on by default, will it be for new broadband customers and transferring broadband customers or will it be for all customers?

Did think about posting this in the funny news thread, but it shows up problems with filtering, so I put it here

"British Library's wi-fi service blocks 'violent' Hamlet"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23680689

(12-08-2013 10:27 )dominar rygel xvi Wrote:  When the new policy comes in next year, with filters turned on by default, will it be for new broadband customers and transferring broadband customers or will it be for all customers?

According to the BBC new broadband users and transferring broadband users will have the filters turned on by default but existing customers will simply be written to asking them if they want to turn the filters on.

(14-08-2013 12:12 )TheWatcher Wrote:  Did think about posting this in the funny news thread, but it shows up problems with filtering, so I put it here

"British Library's wi-fi service blocks 'violent' Hamlet"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23680689

Quite right too. Just because a story is old, that does not automatically make it child safe. Cinderella is based on a traditional tale where the Prince goes around trying on young ladies "furry slippers" until he finds one he likes. Is explanation necessary? It was not a childs story until the Brothers Grimm "mistranslated" ver (fur) as verre (glass). In traditional mythology Zeus seduces young women disguised as a bull and swan - encouraging bestiality and pregnancy by passing strangers. Then he "came to" Danaë (Diana) as a golden rain and fathered Perseus. Not sure that the symbolism of a golden shower in a sexual context is suitable for children, or even most adults, but it is probably standard fare at public schools.

(12-08-2013 10:27 )dominar rygel xvi Wrote:  

(25-07-2013 13:23 )elgar1uk Wrote:  According to Talktalk when their new customers are asked about the filters with a pop up box 30% choose to activate them.

When the new policy comes in next year, with filters turned on by default, will it be for new broadband customers and transferring broadband customers or will it be for all customers?

My understanding is that porn filters will be automatic for new customers, unless they opt out. ISPs will have another year before they become mandatory for existing customers (unless they opt out).

From the governments viewpoint this has the advantage of keeping numbers low at first while faults are ironed out. The large numbers of existing customers will be affected at different times as ISPs work to different schedules, making it difficult for any anti campaign to gain momentum - most people will think they will not be affected. The government will also be able to point out that porn filters will have been in operation for a year, so complaints are old news and people should have got their act together sooner.

Of course in 2 years time the election will have been and gone, making it too late to get MPs attention, and the new government will have more pressing matters to see to. The Tories are hoping that in the run up to the election (May 2015) they will get some votes from saying they are clamping down.

Found this document on the DCMS website. Nothing really new but interesting to see the proposals in writing.

P27 Ofcom reforms - don't get your hopes up, it means less oversight of public service broadcasters. That could lead to late night stripping on Channel 4 to reach the neglected male audience, but I doubt it.

P33 Illegal material - a task force is looking at ways of forums for "illegal material such as images of child abuse". Quite right. But "Images of terrorism"? Does that mean banning the BBC News? I thought promoting terrorism was illegal, with no automatic ban on images of. The PM might like to explain to his mate Obama why he will be clamping down on Irish websites.
"This material is wholly unacceptable whether in the form of written material, images or videos". Lets be generous and assume a government department actually knows how to write in English, so that sentence refers to written material about child abuse, as well as terrorism. The subject is vile, but does this mean the government will clamp down on text only websites because of the ideas contained there? Will the English literary classic book, Lolita be banned from the internet and council funded libraries? The central character bitterly regrets his actions at the end. Will the classic James Mason film be banned?
If harm is to be the criteria, what about gambling websites? Or payday loans? Or religious cults? The sheer number of people whose lives are harmed by those websites mean they should be acted on.

P28 - the Internet Watch Foundation - who are they? Who are they accountable to? What remedies exist if they get in wrong? Are they staffed by people predisposed to censorship (not neutral, not open minded).

P34 Inappropriate and Harmful Material - Connected TV - expect TV On Demand to be regulated the same way as traditional TV. No adult content during the day. No adult content at night without entering rock solid identification. (Do you want a pornographer to know your name, address and bank details?). Foreign porn sites to be blocked.

P35 R18 Content Video-On-Demand - No content stronger than R18.

P36 "By the end of next year ISPs will have prompted all existing customers to make an unavoidable decision about whether to apply family friendly filters."

P36 "Only adult account holders will be able to change these filters once applied." Tough if your wife or parents are the account holder.

I logged into my talktalk account online over the weekend, for the first time in ages, and was immediately confronted by a page asking if I wanted to activate the filters, before I could access anything else.