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I understand the concerns but on the other hand, why is it so hard to make "defaults" while still allowing people freedom to browse whatever they want? I'd be

I understand the concerns but on the other hand, why is it so hard to make "defaults" while still allowing people freedom to browse whatever they want? I'd be perfectly happy for major porn sites to be blocked by default, as long as ISP customers can just go to their account online and toggle a checkbox and be done with it. Google images blocks "adult" pictures by default doesn't it? Why aren't we having the same conversation and upset with Google images? Perhaps because all it takes is toggle the filter off in the menu. Their proposal to block sites without age verification is pretty dumb though. Any kids can get through that, and it doesn't give any power to the parents to block these sites. edit: I guess as usual the difficulty is in having rules that can be clearly defined, so "age verification" just fulfills that. But if they already have laws to categorize pronography I don't see why they couldn't apply to setting up "default" filters. Especially if looking at commercial pornography sites. I think commercial ones are the most damaging because their drive for money is what pushes them to create the most extreme and dehumanizing content.

fredley 10y ago
In the UK, this is already the default: adult content is blocked by ISPs, unless you check a box. The percentage of people who have the box ticked roughly correlates with the percentage of households with children. This bill goes further in requiring age-verification to be run by every site serving adult content, or be blocked in the UK altogether. The reasoning is that children can still browse pornography if they are not connected to their home network, and this will stop that happening.
- johndoe4589 10y ago
  Oh I see good point. I was thinking most public wifi networks would also leave the filter on. But then again, how does the age verification protect children? I guess they are looking at the initial "impression" (in web semantics, the initial page load and what is shown without age verification).
  - fredley 10y ago
    It protects children in households where the setting is not enabled? I have no idea. Maybe there's another motive behind this bill.
  - pjc50 10y ago
    You must understand that UK public policy does not proceed from noticing a problem to solutions to that problem. It proceeds from newspaper headlines to policy announcements generating counter-headlines. The whole thing is driven by "BAN THIS FILTH" arguments in the Mail, Sun and Express. (At least two of which daily publish exploitative photos of women; the Mail has an entire sidebar of not-really-consensual bikini shots of celebrities)
- dingaling 10y ago
  Only the Big Three ISPs in the UK ( BT Retail, TalkTalk, Virgin ) and their subsidiaries have any form of discretionaty content blocking. The smaller, more technical ones don't. They don't even have a content control panel.
  - tonylemesmer 10y ago
    My ISP doesn't appear to block or filter anything (not one of those listed by parent).

fredley 10y ago

In the UK, this is already the default: adult content is blocked by ISPs, unless you check a box. The percentage of people who have the box ticked roughly correlates with the percentage of households with children. This bill goes further in requiring age-verification to be run by every site serving adult content, or be blocked in the UK altogether. The reasoning is that children can still browse pornography if they are not connected to their home network, and this will stop that happening.

johndoe4589 10y ago
Oh I see good point. I was thinking most public wifi networks would also leave the filter on. But then again, how does the age verification protect children? I guess they are looking at the initial "impression" (in web semantics, the initial page load and what is shown without age verification).
- fredley 10y ago
  It protects children in households where the setting is not enabled? I have no idea. Maybe there's another motive behind this bill.
- pjc50 10y ago
  You must understand that UK public policy does not proceed from noticing a problem to solutions to that problem. It proceeds from newspaper headlines to policy announcements generating counter-headlines. The whole thing is driven by "BAN THIS FILTH" arguments in the Mail, Sun and Express. (At least two of which daily publish exploitative photos of women; the Mail has an entire sidebar of not-really-consensual bikini shots of celebrities)
dingaling 10y ago
Only the Big Three ISPs in the UK ( BT Retail, TalkTalk, Virgin ) and their subsidiaries have any form of discretionaty content blocking. The smaller, more technical ones don't. They don't even have a content control panel.
- tonylemesmer 10y ago
  My ISP doesn't appear to block or filter anything (not one of those listed by parent).