Cingular Filtering Porn From Wireless Web?

Atryn writes: "Cingular Wireless is reportedly blocking its customers from accessing 'objectionable material" via the Wireless Web.' The spokesman mentioned in the story disclaims knowledge of any blocking -- can any Cingular customers reading this confirm it?

Comments

I tried three and couldn't get through, but...

[aduthie]

I tried three and couldn't get through, but that doesn't mean they're blocked, necessarily. Here's what I tried, and what I got:

www.porn.com - Reply unknown!
www.sex.com - No server access!
www.fuck.com - File format unknown!
www.slashdot.org - No server access!

Looks like they're blocking Slashdot, too, shucks.

(Test performed on a Nokia 3360 cell phone. Note that I could easily use the phone as a model with my iPaq, then browse all sorts of porn using my regular dial-up ISP.)

802.11b devices aren't licensed

[MasteroftheVoxel]

They are in a "no-need for license" free for
all location in the microwave spectrum. This was originally set aside expect only the military to use it but then cordless phones, 802.11b, and bluetooth appeared. They are perfectly legal in this band as long as the broadcasting power is under a certain limit. Since each device doesn't require an independent license, they don't fall under the same FCC laws that radios and other communication devices do.

Only WAP sites - key for testing; no evidence

[Seth Finkelstein]

A key item in the article is:

Not all Web sites are affected, just those that use a standard called Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). Web page makers use WAP to create a slimmed down version of their sites for cell phones.

Please take this into account for testing. So far, looking over the web, I've found no supporting evidence for the story.

Sig: What Happened To The Censorware Project (censorware.org)

Re:General problem? DID THEY TEST OTHER SITES?!

[whistl]

The site wap.sex.com returns HTML content, not WML, even when attempting to view from a WAP browser.

Some WAP gateways are able to convert simple HTML to WML for viewing on a WAP capable phone. Some do not.

Re:Well...

[Rick the Red]

Seriously, folks, is the corporate world so seriously screwed up that no-one is capable of this?

You don't understand how business works. Engineering says "We can do this for $X." Marketing says "We can sell this to Y customers at $Z/month". Management sees that Y * $Z > $X and gives the go-ahead.

Later, Marketing discovers that their estimates and assumptions were off, but Engineering's already ordered the hardware so they've made their investment and can't go back. Management asks Marketing to raise the price to cut demand, and Marketing says "We're at the bend in the curve: If we charge a tiny bit more we'll lose so many customers that the whole thing will be a total failure."

So Management does the next best thing to raising rates for everyone: They change the TOC (limit bandwidth) enough to drive off the few high-cost customers while keeping the vast majority of customers, whose bandwidth is well within their capacity. Predictable, really.

Re:Well...

[Anonymous Coward]

This isn't sensorship. It's merely an agreement....

This isn't sodomy. It's merely an agreement....

If you substitute "USA Today' site" for "porn site", you'll find out damned fast from their lawyers that it IS censorship.

pr0n & terrorism

[Sean Clifford]

WTF? Where's the connexion between pr0n and terrorism? It must be as tenuous as the current anti-drug commercials so prevalent on American television. Where do terrorists get their money for weapons? Historically, it's from the United States of America. Drugs are bad, of course, unless they're funding an illegal American war in Central America.

My quip about pr0n not turning me into Osama bin Laden was simply a comment that looking at pr0n as a kid doesn't turn that kid into a maladjusted adult.

Quite the contrary, sex education that promotes responsible sex - both gay and straight - without moralising about it results in healthy, well-adjusted adults. It reduces unwanted pregnancy and transmission of STDs. Compare the percentages of Dutch kids having unwanted pregnancies versus American kids, infection rates, and so on. The policies of "protecting kids" does just the opposite, yet admitting it undermines the entire "moral" underpinnings of education. It's simply insane.

You may be sick of hearing it, but Americans are prudes. Horrific violence on television and in cinema is quite acceptable, while curse words and nakedness are taboo. When's the last time you've seen a cock on TV or film, even rated "R". Breasts are fine on pay channels, but other "naughty bits" are left to "adult" channels. In America, apparently only adults are allowed to have sex or exposure to sexuality.

Now, totally OT, but picking up on the tangent:

The reason many other countries are pissed off at America because of its foreign policy, not because of strip clubs and pr0n. America is like a spoiled schoolyard bully and its "allies" his gang. Most other kids are relieved that America just steals them blind and doesn't beat the crap out of them. As the Japanese are fond of saying "the nail that sticks up gets hammered down", thus the reluctance of most countries to tell America to piss off.