British Telecom Blocking Porn by Default for New Customers
No adult content unless you specify that you want it.
British Telecom today announced that it would block all adult content by default for new customers. The company is launching a new network-based filter called Parental Controls that will require customers to actively choose their parental controls when setting up their internet connection.
BT's Parental Controls will need to be activated when new customers first connect to the web. By default, the controls are pre-selected and switched on, so customers will have to actually switch them off during this set up in order to see adult content. Customers will be able to choose from three levels of intensity (strict, moderate, and light) and the filter can be switched off during certain periods. Of course, the goal behind this is to protect children from unsavory content on the internet.
"BT takes the issue of online child protection extremely seriously and we are very pleased to be able to launch the whole-home filter to help parents keep their families safe online. It adds to the many tools we already make available for free to our customers. We’ve been focused on the issue of online safety since we developed the world’s first Cleanfeed filter to block child abuse images and made the technology available free to other ISPs across the world a decade ago."
Current customers won't be able to avoid the new system, either. BT said today that this new Parental Controls program will also see current customers contacted and asked to make a decision regarding their parental control settings. The news follows a report in October 2011 that said the UK's four major ISPs were working on having users opt in for pornographic or adult content.
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But no option to just have no content filtering at all? Or am I misunderstanding this?
This isn't really parental controls if the parents do not have the option to turn it off, is it? This is more like ISP control because they have the final say in what is and isn't acceptable. They will also force existing users into the system as well. As it's setup right now, they stated that they are going to "nag" them in someway until they accept the filter.
I know this ISP is caving from government pressure but this is just sad. No longer will new customers of this company have true internet but instead a filtered one. A bowl half filled with water only approved by the government.
But no option to just have no content filtering at all? Or am I misunderstanding this?
This isn't really parental controls if the parents do not have the option to turn it off, is it? This is more like ISP control because they have the final say in what is and isn't acceptable. They will also force existing users into the system as well. As it's setup right now, they stated that they are going to "nag" them in someway until they accept the filter.
I know this ISP is caving from government pressure but this is just sad. No longer will new customers of this company have true internet but instead a filtered one. A bowl half filled with water only approved by the government.
On a side note, I still don't get why people sit on computers are stare at porn full of ugly women. -.-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pn4kZyqVRU
It's simple, if you don't like this, change your ISP. But this does set a very bad precedent in case it can't be turned off completely.
It's not shutting you out from adult content, it's just removing the option for accidentally coming across crap at a young age. You can choose to regain access to it with the click of your mouse, it just prevents kids from typing words like "camel" or some other non-sexual item into google and end up getting way more than they bargained for.
For all the people yelling "they are controlling the content of what people can see! ZOMG Big Brother!" Do you say the same things about Television, how straight nudity is prohibited? We do it because people don't need that garbage at a young age (or, arguable, any age. Get a wife).
If you want your porn, just click "light" and go about your life. (Light = no filtering)
It's not shutting you out from adult content, it's just removing the option for accidentally coming across crap at a young age. You can choose to regain access to it with the click of your mouse, it just prevents kids from typing words like "camel" or some other non-sexual item into google and end up getting way more than they bargained for.
For all the people yelling "they are controlling the content of what people can see! ZOMG Big Brother!" Do you say the same things about Television, how straight nudity is prohibited? We do it because people don't need that garbage at a young age (or, arguable, any age. Get a wife).
If you want your porn, just click "light" and go about your life. (Light = no filtering)
It's not shutting you out from adult content, it's just removing the option for accidentally coming across crap at a young age. You can choose to regain access to it with the click of your mouse, it just prevents kids from typing words like "camel" or some other non-sexual item into google and end up getting way more than they bargained for.
For all the people yelling "they are controlling the content of what people can see! ZOMG Big Brother!" Do you say the same things about Television, how straight nudity is prohibited? We do it because people don't need that garbage at a young age (or, arguable, any age. Get a wife).
If you want your porn, just click "light" and go about your life. (Light = no filtering)
1) The Government is bring in new laws and rules about this so switching ISP may work in the short term but in the end all ISPs will have to have porn blocked by defualt.
2)However turning it off is simple, all i had to do to turn it off was to log into my ISP account and there was a giant banner asking if i wanted it on or off, didnt have to ring anyone or anything.
3)It doesnt stop kids accessing porn because you can be sure their Dad has already turned the filter off. The government seems to think that only kids watch porn
Not really, get your conservative fingers out of my pie, douche. The worst part about this by far, is that 100s of thousands of married men will not have a good enough excuse to disable content filter if they have kids.
Dick.