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Is this an opt in or an opt out filter? Does any one, even for a moment, think that this is going to stop any kid from looking at porn? The techsavy kids are go

by x0054 13y ago

Is this an opt in or an opt out filter? Does any one, even for a moment, think that this is going to stop any kid from looking at porn? The techsavy kids are going to brake the system by using free or paid VPNs or TOR, and then tell their friends. Hell, if I was a kid in UK right now, I would make money selling preconfigured FireFox instances with VPN credentials to my peers. Hmm... maybe really it David Cameron's roundabout way of getting teenagers interested in hacking and computers?!?

rpedroso 13y ago
The article itself actually discusses this. All new internet customers are greeted with a prompt asking them whether or not they want parental controls [1]. The design of the choice menu seems to encourage choosing the porn filter. As for existing customers, I'm not sure. The article says that "BBC's Newsnight has discovered all the major ISPs that have launched full default filters", which could mean that these filters have been turned on by default for existing customers, but the wording is fairly unclear. Edit: It get's even more confusing. According to this[2] BBC article, the filter is automatically set to "on" for new users. This contradicts their claim that new users are offered a choice, though admittedly the choice is skewed in one direction. I think I'll wait for someone from the UK to chime in... [1] http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/71795000/jpg/_71795679_71795678.jpg http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/71795000/jpg/_71795679... [2] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25400009 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25400009
- diminoten 13y ago
  Wait, you can opt out of this?? What's the big deal, then? If you want porn, you get porn! Life is as it's always been, and to all you people who say that there are those who can't figure it out, show me a man who wants to see boobs, and I'll show you a man who can solve any problem presented to him if said problem prevents him from seeing boobs.
  - Larrikin 13y ago
    It should be opt in so most people get it by default. When it's opt out you're one database leak away from being able to out out all those awful people who like boobs. If a law like this was passed I'm sure the climate is such that a list like that would be useful for black mail
    - vidarh 13y ago
      There's no law backing this filter: It's pushed through via the UK governments favourite backdoor way of getting unaccountable censorship through, namely the threat of legislation unless the private companies involved act on their own accord. The private companies avoid pesky government involvements, and the government can wash their hand of it if/when something goes wrong. See also how UK ISPs delegate child porn filtering to a totally unaccountable organisation called the Internet Watch Foundation.
  - user24 13y ago
    > I'll show you a man who can solve any problem presented to him if said problem prevents him from seeing boobs. And if the person is a 14 year old boy who can't opt out because he's not the account holder, what'll he do? I'll tell you: He'll find the long tail porn sites that aren't blocked. You know, the non-mainstream ones, the ones which go out of their way to evade detection. The ones where anything goes. And what if the list of politicians who've opted in to porn is leaked? And now the filtering technology is in place, it seems foolish not to block extremist, terrorist websites too. And communist ones. And protestors. And non government-santioned news.
    - bergie 13y ago
      In Finland when they launched the "child porn filters" a few years back, they also filtered out the website criticizing the way the filtering was implemented. And to my knowledge this has never been lifted.
  - rainforest 13y ago
    The big deal is that the filter is beyond your control, and the cost is transferred to the customers regardless of their use of the filter or lack thereof. This is clear evidence that filtering is a terrible way to block "objectionable" content, that it won't make anyone safer; any confidence in it is baseless so the whole thing is just a waste of customers' money.
- DanBC 13y ago
  New users are opted in by default, but can opt out. Existing users get the menu option choice.
psionski 13y ago
Or just sell and swap CDs like we did before the (broadband) Internet? This could be more lucrative as you're not giving out the source.

by x0054 13y ago

rpedroso 13y ago

The article itself actually discusses this. All new internet customers are greeted with a prompt asking them whether or not they want parental controls [1]. The design of the choice menu seems to encourage choosing the porn filter. As for existing customers, I'm not sure. The article says that "BBC's Newsnight has discovered all the major ISPs that have launched full default filters", which could mean that these filters have been turned on by default for existing customers, but the wording is fairly unclear. Edit: It get's even more confusing. According to this[2] BBC article, the filter is automatically set to "on" for new users. This contradicts their claim that new users are offered a choice, though admittedly the choice is skewed in one direction. I think I'll wait for someone from the UK to chime in... [1] http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/71795000/jpg/_71795679_71795678.jpg http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/71795000/jpg/_71795679... [2] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25400009 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25400009

diminoten 13y ago
Wait, you can opt out of this?? What's the big deal, then? If you want porn, you get porn! Life is as it's always been, and to all you people who say that there are those who can't figure it out, show me a man who wants to see boobs, and I'll show you a man who can solve any problem presented to him if said problem prevents him from seeing boobs.
- Larrikin 13y ago
  It should be opt in so most people get it by default. When it's opt out you're one database leak away from being able to out out all those awful people who like boobs. If a law like this was passed I'm sure the climate is such that a list like that would be useful for black mail
  - vidarh 13y ago
    There's no law backing this filter: It's pushed through via the UK governments favourite backdoor way of getting unaccountable censorship through, namely the threat of legislation unless the private companies involved act on their own accord. The private companies avoid pesky government involvements, and the government can wash their hand of it if/when something goes wrong. See also how UK ISPs delegate child porn filtering to a totally unaccountable organisation called the Internet Watch Foundation.
- user24 13y ago
  > I'll show you a man who can solve any problem presented to him if said problem prevents him from seeing boobs. And if the person is a 14 year old boy who can't opt out because he's not the account holder, what'll he do? I'll tell you: He'll find the long tail porn sites that aren't blocked. You know, the non-mainstream ones, the ones which go out of their way to evade detection. The ones where anything goes. And what if the list of politicians who've opted in to porn is leaked? And now the filtering technology is in place, it seems foolish not to block extremist, terrorist websites too. And communist ones. And protestors. And non government-santioned news.
  - bergie 13y ago
    In Finland when they launched the "child porn filters" a few years back, they also filtered out the website criticizing the way the filtering was implemented. And to my knowledge this has never been lifted.
- rainforest 13y ago
  The big deal is that the filter is beyond your control, and the cost is transferred to the customers regardless of their use of the filter or lack thereof. This is clear evidence that filtering is a terrible way to block "objectionable" content, that it won't make anyone safer; any confidence in it is baseless so the whole thing is just a waste of customers' money.
DanBC 13y ago
New users are opted in by default, but can opt out. Existing users get the menu option choice.

psionski 13y ago

Or just sell and swap CDs like we did before the (broadband) Internet? This could be more lucrative as you're not giving out the source.