UK Mobile Providers Introduce WAP Censorship

godsmoke writes "UK mobile providers have formed an alliance to block 'inappropriate content' from cell phone users under the age of 18. 'It covers images, video, gambling, games, chatrooms and net access but not premium rate voice and SMS services', says a BBC News article. The Code authorizing the changes is called the 'Code of Practice', and: 'Content with an 18 certificate will only be available when the network operators verify the age of the user'."

Comments

Question

[CGP314]

What if I as the parent of a 17 year old, give them permission to look at porn? Can I have that block removed from their phone... a phone I most likely bought and paid for in the first place?


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Re:Censorship

[Serveert]

When was anything exploited with WAP? With 90% of WAP browsers you can simply send a "X-" header to make it think you're any phone number you choose, but have people abused that yet? Nope.

You could abuse this but will this happen enough to be a problem? Probably not.

Of course now we're talking about porn so the motiviations might be higher.

Age of consent

[Aardpig]

I always found it funny that, in the UK, you can get married and have sex at the age of 16; yet you can't look at porno until you are 18. So it's possible to indulge in the most depraved sexual acts imaginable, but you're not allowed to view depictions of the same acts. Crazy!

Re:Inflamatory Title

[Telastyn]

They're not making the place safe for kids. They're implimenting filters, which have been proven time and again to be wholy ineffective in even doing censorship effectively, let alone making kids safe.

Censorship? Maybe, but it's nothing new

[RDFozz]

The government (in the US, at least, and presumably in the UK as well) already restrict a variety of things based on age. Speaking for the US, age determines when people can:

• Purchase pR0n
• Purchase tobacco products
• Purchase alcohol
• Vote
• Join the armed services
• Get married
• Enter into legally-binding contracts

In most of these cases, parental consent lowers or eliminates this age barrier. If the technology allows it, I don't see it as being anything new or different. And parental permission (mom or dad registers the phone under their own name, instead of in the kid's name) would still apply here. I am a firm believer that parents should not ask society to do what they are unwilling to, and that society should not restrict everyone's access to anything based on a least common denominator mentality. However, I do support the concept that there are areas outside of a parent's control, and assisting parents to gain appropriate control in those situations is a good thing.

turning it off

[TheCoop1984]

How will the kids/adults turn the censorship off when they reach 18? they can hardly go to their parents and say 'hey, I want to look at porn now, could you unblock the phone please?'. Or will control automatically pass to them when they reach 18, and why doesnt it say anything about this in the article?

List URLs on Phone Bill

[reallocate]

I dunno how UK phone companies bill, but why not list the URL's and the phone numbers accessed by each phone on the bill? That way Mom and Dad will know what Junior has been looking at.