4 ms·

Says the BBC: "The filters block pornographic websites, as well as pages promoting self-harm or drug taking." One of the major concerns raised about these filt

by rikkus 12y ago

Says the BBC: "The filters block pornographic websites, as well as pages promoting self-harm or drug taking." One of the major concerns raised about these filters at the time the government announced them was that they _also_ block sites which people go to for help. The BBC have decided to ignore this concern (which they know about) and copy+paste the government's promotional text.

digitalengineer 12y ago
This just shows it's not about actually helping people.
higherpurpose 12y ago
I've noticed BBC tends to do that a lot - publish government's stories (mostly in the way they want them published).
- gmac 12y ago
  Yes. BBC News nowadays is essentially Government Press Release Hour. Probably because the Government is continually holding the threat of a licence fee review over their heads (the BBC is funded by a flat-rate tax of ~£150 per year on each UK household that owns a TV). "Nice little broadcasting corporation you got there. Be a shame if anything were to happen to it". It got appreciably worse after they got in hot water and backtracked over Andrew Gilligan's patently correct claim that Tony Blair knowingly lied to get the UK into the Iraq war. It has also got worse under the present Tory ('coalition') government, which the BBC knows would like nothing better, ideologically speaking, than to eliminate one more public service. Probably a lot of this agenda has been internalised by BBC staff. Nobody ever got fired for broadcasting the Government line, after all. http://www.medialens.org/ http://www.medialens.org/ is great on this stuff.
- jeltz 12y ago
  Isn't this common everywhere? Lazy reporters turning press releases into articles with the minimum possible work. BBC may be more prone at parroting UK government press releases but this is a part of a much larger problem.
IanCal 12y ago
Says the BBC: "A BBC investigation last year found that porn filters from other UK ISPs were blocking access to sex education and rape-victim support websites." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25638872 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25638872 And "Pornography filters used by major internet service providers are blocking websites offering sex education and advice on sexual health and porn addiction, the BBC has learned." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25430582 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25430582
- rikkus 12y ago
  Exactly. They know this - and have reported it - but in the next article, somehow everything's fine again and what the government say is fact.
  - eli 12y ago
    I agree that the reporting in the linked article is a bit lacking (especially if the author didn't bother reading the Beeb's own past coverage of the filter), but it's a mistake to think of the BBC as a monolithic "they." I don't think it's a malicious omission.
  - jeltz 12y ago
    I think this is just lazy reporting with the guy writing this not bothering to check his facts.
duncanawoods 12y ago
This short report is factually describing the release of an OfCom study about uptake of the filter. It would be an editorial comment to speculate about the causes for why people are not taking up the filter if those conclusions are not part of the study. Such issues might fit a different story or a broader article about the filter as a whole but I see no problem with its omission from this specific report.
- sdenton4 12y ago
  Wel they DO speculate that the low uptake is due to evil installation people who are maybe going around disabling the filter for everyone... Like this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dht_3NziwSw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dht_3NziwSw
NoMoreNicksLeft 12y ago
This is because the BBC is the government and the government is BBC.
Fuxy 12y ago
Ha ha... Thank you virgin media engineers for taking care of all the hassle a new user has to go trough when they find out their favorite midget porn website doesn't work anymore. Hell this may even cause the cancellation of a few contracts when the user finds his websites blocked doesn't know about the filter or just clicks trough it without reading and is too embarrassed to call up the ISP and ask questions. I think this is customer support at its best. :)

by rikkus 12y ago

digitalengineer 12y ago

This just shows it's not about actually helping people.

higherpurpose 12y ago

I've noticed BBC tends to do that a lot - publish government's stories (mostly in the way they want them published).

gmac 12y ago
Yes. BBC News nowadays is essentially Government Press Release Hour. Probably because the Government is continually holding the threat of a licence fee review over their heads (the BBC is funded by a flat-rate tax of ~£150 per year on each UK household that owns a TV). "Nice little broadcasting corporation you got there. Be a shame if anything were to happen to it". It got appreciably worse after they got in hot water and backtracked over Andrew Gilligan's patently correct claim that Tony Blair knowingly lied to get the UK into the Iraq war. It has also got worse under the present Tory ('coalition') government, which the BBC knows would like nothing better, ideologically speaking, than to eliminate one more public service. Probably a lot of this agenda has been internalised by BBC staff. Nobody ever got fired for broadcasting the Government line, after all. http://www.medialens.org/ http://www.medialens.org/ is great on this stuff.
jeltz 12y ago
Isn't this common everywhere? Lazy reporters turning press releases into articles with the minimum possible work. BBC may be more prone at parroting UK government press releases but this is a part of a much larger problem.

IanCal 12y ago

Says the BBC: "A BBC investigation last year found that porn filters from other UK ISPs were blocking access to sex education and rape-victim support websites." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25638872 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25638872 And "Pornography filters used by major internet service providers are blocking websites offering sex education and advice on sexual health and porn addiction, the BBC has learned." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25430582 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25430582

rikkus 12y ago
Exactly. They know this - and have reported it - but in the next article, somehow everything's fine again and what the government say is fact.
- eli 12y ago
  I agree that the reporting in the linked article is a bit lacking (especially if the author didn't bother reading the Beeb's own past coverage of the filter), but it's a mistake to think of the BBC as a monolithic "they." I don't think it's a malicious omission.
- jeltz 12y ago
  I think this is just lazy reporting with the guy writing this not bothering to check his facts.

duncanawoods 12y ago

This short report is factually describing the release of an OfCom study about uptake of the filter. It would be an editorial comment to speculate about the causes for why people are not taking up the filter if those conclusions are not part of the study. Such issues might fit a different story or a broader article about the filter as a whole but I see no problem with its omission from this specific report.

sdenton4 12y ago
Wel they DO speculate that the low uptake is due to evil installation people who are maybe going around disabling the filter for everyone... Like this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dht_3NziwSw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dht_3NziwSw

NoMoreNicksLeft 12y ago

This is because the BBC is the government and the government is BBC.

Fuxy 12y ago

Ha ha... Thank you virgin media engineers for taking care of all the hassle a new user has to go trough when they find out their favorite midget porn website doesn't work anymore. Hell this may even cause the cancellation of a few contracts when the user finds his websites blocked doesn't know about the filter or just clicks trough it without reading and is too embarrassed to call up the ISP and ask questions. I think this is customer support at its best. :)