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UK Gov. Wants IWF List To Cover 100% of UK Broadband

Posted by kdawson on from the tackling-blocking dept.

wild_quinine writes "The UK government stated in 2006 that they wished to see 100% of UK consumer broadband ISPs' connections covered by blocking, which includes images of child abuse. 95% of ISPs have complied, but children's charities are calling for firmer action by the government as the last 5% cite costs and concerns over the effectiveness of the system. According to Home Office Minister Alan Campbell, 'The government is currently looking at ways to progress the final 5%.' With a lack of transparency in the IWF list, firm government involvement, and blocking that only 'includes' (but may not be limited to) images of child abuse, it looks like the writing is on the wall for unfiltered, uncensored Internet connections in the UK."

1 of 281 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Tackling the root causes by radio4fan · · Score: 5, Informative

    Next chance I get, I'm off.

    Shamefully reposted from the last time we had a story like this:

    --
    I left in 2007.

    There wasn't one single thing that made me go, but the accumulative weight of paranoia and illiberalism.

    Shamelessly ripped off from here:

            * The government can ban any groups it labels 'terrorist' (Terrorism Act 2000)
            * The government can monitor any and all private communication (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000)
            * Armed forces can be deployed on UK soil in peacetime (Civil Contingencies Act 2004)
            * Property and assets can be seized without warning or compensation (Civil Contingencies Act 2004)
            * Spontaneous protest is now illegal around Parliament (Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005)
            * Without trial, any British citizen can be tagged, put under house arrest and banned from using the telephone or internet (Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005)
            * Any citizen can be imprisoned without charge for 28 days (42 days has passed the house of commons) (Terrorism Act 2006)
            * The executive can change any current legislation without consulting Parliament, with very few exceptions (Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006)
            * Arbitrary punishments with no legal precedents can be issued with little legal recourse, based on hearsay evidence (Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003)
            * British citizens can be extradicted to the United States with no evidence presented (Extradition Act 2003)
            * Compulsory identification for all British citizens, with an unlimited amount of details stored in a central database, which the private sector will have access to (Identity Cards Act 2006)
            * Upon arrest the police have claim to your DNA, even if you are released without charge (Criminal Justice Act 2003)

    Note that some of this predates 9/11.

    The government is not-so-gradually putting in place all the mechanisms that a totalitarian police state needs.

    What's sickening is that this is largely supported by or ignored by the public.

    Every letter I wrote to my MP was replied to by a "we need it to keep people safe, and the public support this measure" fob-off.

    In theory I should stick around to try and change things, but it's like staying in a pool that other people are shitting in.
    --

    I first left for France, now I'm living in Spain. These countries are not Utopias, but they are a hell of a lot better than the UK. There are no moral panics about predatory paedophiles, and the 'content industries' are not so powerful. And it doesn't rain so much.