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My UK mobile provider (O2) requires you to opt-in (with a credit card) to "adult content" for their mobile web service. I haven't done this, because I really do

by nkoren 14y ago

My UK mobile provider (O2) requires you to opt-in (with a credit card) to "adult content" for their mobile web service. I haven't done this, because I really don't need porn on my mobile, and also because I don't have a UK credit card. Anyhow, during the revolution in Egypt, I discovered that one of the most prominent and important Egyptian bloggers -- "Sandmonkey" -- had for some reason been blocked by O2's adult figure. So although I doubt that this was their actual intention, vital dissenting thought is already being censored by these filters.

mike-cardwell 14y ago
When I was with O2, I remember having to opt in to "adult content" so that I could read a tech news site it was incorrectly blocking. I think it was theregister.co.uk, but it was quite a while ago so I could be wrong, or they could have unblocked it for everyone by now?
lucian1900 14y ago
With 3 you can try to disable the filtering, but they won't do it. All opt-in in adult content does is let you buy porn from 3. Downright insulting, especially when I just want to read a news website.
CWuestefeld 14y ago
vital dissenting thought is already being censored by these filters Years ago when my dog was a small puppy, I had a webcam set up in the laundry room so I could check throughout the day that he was OK. That worked great until WebSense, the filtering system that my company uses, decided to classify my puppy-cam as "adult content". When I complained to WebSense, they did change the designation in their next update. But still, it makes me wonder just how they go about setting these classifications.
- nsns 14y ago
  While errors will always happen, the main concern, IMO, is that slowly it will become intentional and accepted. This hasn't happened yet outside certain countries. For example, we could still access Wikileaks, despite the US government's visible wrath. Let's hope it doesn't happen, although the technology probably already exists to set up "private" internet services, e.g. onion routing.
UnoriginalGuy 14y ago
I'm with Orange (UK) and their "adult filter" seems to block a lot of stuff that has nothing at all to do with porn/adult content. I turned it off after less than a week because web-sites like Reddit became impossible to browse as half the links were blocked. I think they just block entire domains after a single link is flagged as adult.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
mibbitier 14y ago
Never put things down to malice, which are more likely to be incompetence. Vodafone have a similar stupid filter, which blocks random websites. You can just call them up and remove it though.

by nkoren 14y ago

mike-cardwell 14y ago

When I was with O2, I remember having to opt in to "adult content" so that I could read a tech news site it was incorrectly blocking. I think it was theregister.co.uk, but it was quite a while ago so I could be wrong, or they could have unblocked it for everyone by now?

lucian1900 14y ago

With 3 you can try to disable the filtering, but they won't do it. All opt-in in adult content does is let you buy porn from 3. Downright insulting, especially when I just want to read a news website.

CWuestefeld 14y ago

vital dissenting thought is already being censored by these filters Years ago when my dog was a small puppy, I had a webcam set up in the laundry room so I could check throughout the day that he was OK. That worked great until WebSense, the filtering system that my company uses, decided to classify my puppy-cam as "adult content". When I complained to WebSense, they did change the designation in their next update. But still, it makes me wonder just how they go about setting these classifications.

nsns 14y ago
While errors will always happen, the main concern, IMO, is that slowly it will become intentional and accepted. This hasn't happened yet outside certain countries. For example, we could still access Wikileaks, despite the US government's visible wrath. Let's hope it doesn't happen, although the technology probably already exists to set up "private" internet services, e.g. onion routing.

UnoriginalGuy 14y ago

I'm with Orange (UK) and their "adult filter" seems to block a lot of stuff that has nothing at all to do with porn/adult content. I turned it off after less than a week because web-sites like Reddit became impossible to browse as half the links were blocked. I think they just block entire domains after a single link is flagged as adult.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

mibbitier 14y ago

Never put things down to malice, which are more likely to be incompetence. Vodafone have a similar stupid filter, which blocks random websites. You can just call them up and remove it though.