Slashdot Mirror


No Porn From Public WiFi Hotspots In the UK Proposed

whoever57 writes "Prime Minister David Cameron is proposing that porn should not be available through WiFi hotspots in public areas. Exactly how this will be implemented has not been identified, even to the extent of whether the ISP or the hotspot operator should implement the blocking. From the article: ' The Prime Minister said: “We are promoting good, clean, WiFi in local cafes and elsewhere to make sure that people have confidence in public WiFi systems so that they are not going to see things they shouldn’t.” His intervention comes after a long-running campaign from children’s charities to ensure a blanket ban on unacceptable sites on public WiFi networks.'"

69 of 390 comments (clear)

  1. Does that include Women Porn? by mozumder · · Score: 4, Funny

    Like People Magazine and fashion sites?

    1. Re:Does that include Women Porn? by Joce640k · · Score: 4, Funny

      It'll be much simpler just to ban children from cafes.

      They've got no business drinking coffee at their age anyway.

      --
      No sig today...
    2. Re:Does that include Women Porn? by Fluffeh · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Seriously, this belongs in the "clueless idiots want to control something they have no right to control..." basket.

      Sometimes I think that the world has a chance of evolving in the right direction when insightful or intelligent laws are passed, but for each of those moments, I seem to have at least a dozen facepalm or forehead-table moments.

      If a cafe owner finds that many of his/her customers are turning away to other cafes because there are too many folks holding coffee in one hand and their other hand is under the table - shouldn't it be up to them to install some sort of blocklist/filtering software? Why the fuck does it have to be a government mandated, nay regulated, nay again, state policed offence to NOT have this set up?

      I am all for libertarianism, but with a touch of ethics and morals thrown in - I want people to be able to do whatever they want, and sincerly hopethat they will do the right thing - but if they choose to have effectively a red-light-district cafe, then they should be able to - hopefully ina red light district part of town. There MUST be some point where common sense kicks in with capitalism surely. You have a cafe, in the center of three primary schools, politely ask folks watching porn to move on as they are disrupting your normal business of soccer moms. Oh, you don't want a dingey establishment in the first place, okay, ask anyone watching risque content to move on if anyone notices. And if no-one does, who the fuck is it harming?

      I really want to beat some common sense into idiot meddling politicians trying to force their public policies down the throats of others with a really big hard, solid, heavy stick - with nails in the end of it. There is a difference between making laws that prohibit unsafe buildings, or fire hazzards or man-eating-star-wars-type-desert-creatures and trying to ban anything that the politician doesn't want to admit to or show that he/her is doing in public from being an offence.

      --
      Moved to http://soylentnews.org/. You are invited to join us too!
    3. Re:Does that include Women Porn? by Baki · · Score: 2

      Or ban children alltogether. It could replace many other prohibitions with a single one.

    4. Re:Does that include Women Porn? by Yakasha · · Score: 3, Funny

      I really want to beat some

      You already said what I wanted to say, so I'll just take a quote out of context and giggle a bit.

    5. Re:Does that include Women Porn? by lgw · · Score: 2

      You might find the phrase "classic liberal" handy.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    6. Re:Does that include Women Porn? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 2

      "They're just trying to look like they're trying to do something about a problem which concerns their constituents, in order to ensure reelection."

      Then they are doing their job: Representing their constituents.

      The problem isn't just with the politicians. It's also with the wider public, most of whome will happily throw their rights away to satisfy their pet cause (whatever that may be) while simutainously condemning all the other people who will happily throw their rights away for a different pet cause.

    7. Re:Does that include Women Porn? by Ian+Alexander · · Score: 3

      Is this even a thing? People jerking it in coffee shops? I've been using the Internet in public spaces all around the world for many years now and I've never ever seen it. If you don't have Internet access that's one thing but it would seem to me that if I was in that situation and I was that desperate I'd use a public access point to _download_ porn but not view it in the goddamn coffee shop. Obviously, the world is a large place and people do all sorts of strange things, but I'm hard-pressed to believe that this is actually common enough of a problem anywhere that there needs to be a response by ISP's or government or cafe owners or whatever to stop these dedicated cadres of cafe wankers from leaving unsanitary stains in coffeeshops across the country.

  2. Porn is bad and dirty by loufoque · · Score: 4, Funny

    You definitely shouldn't see it!
    We, the British government, will protect you from this bane.

    1. Re:Porn is bad and dirty by lennier1 · · Score: 3, Funny

      I'm sure there's a joke about the catholic church somewhere in there.

    2. Re:Porn is bad and dirty by John+Allsup · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The what happens is that people move their porn to Linux, take a file like, say 'manandwoman.mov' and do:

      split -b 10M manandwoman.mov $HARMLESSFILE
      for s in $HARMLESSFILE*; do
      $ENCRYPT -password "${HARMLESSFILE}MrFlibble$HARMLESSFILE" $s -o $s.bin
      done
      # copy the files to multiple free cloud storage facilities and post links to friends, passing instructions for reassembly
      # via other means (sneakernet?)
      # do this for many innocent files too, so that if someone catches you, you may deduce how they did it before
      # you do and realise that they have been cheating at the Game of Life, or else have supernatural powers.
      # In case you need to buy yourself out of jail, present evidence in completion of a certain challenge.

      --
      John_Chalisque
    3. Re:Porn is bad and dirty by telchine · · Score: 4, Funny

      We, the British government, will protect you from this bane.

      The British Government can go suck my **** !

      (just so long as they don't watch the recording over public wi-fi)

    4. Re:Porn is bad and dirty by Rufty · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Ban the "hacker tool" linux :-(

      --
      Red to red, black to black. Switch it on, but stand well back.
    5. Re:Porn is bad and dirty by slim · · Score: 2

      What makes you think this kind of thing is just for Linux users.

      Splitting and encrypting files is userland stuff that you can get done on pretty much any OS.

      I like to use Linux, but it's not magic.

    6. Re:Porn is bad and dirty by ArcadeMan · · Score: 2

      I would absolutely LOVE to see a politician use that line against another.

  3. Wrong question by ruir · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Who exactly is paying/or promoting this? This seems to be a shady manoeuvre to put out free competitions to ISP.

    1. Re:Wrong question by xelah · · Score: 2

      This isn't the US. Far more likely to be a political maneuvre than some sort of corruption or lobbying. It isn't hard to imagine the Conservatives seeing it as a way to pander to their core voters (just before the local elections), and to make life hard for the Liberal Democrat half of the coalition, who are generally keener on civil liberties. The Conservatives are also even more under threat from UKIP (the UK Independence Party, anti-EU and more conservative than the Conservatives), especially in things like local elections because people don't think they actually matter.

    2. Re:Wrong question by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well, I certainly think that children should not be exposed to filth like the Bible (Ezekiel 23:20 for example) or the Koran. If this law comes in I will be submitting links to every online copy of said books for blocking.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  4. No technical solutions for social problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In general, you shouldn't try to solve social problems with technical solutions.

    And in this case, it's not even possible unless you also forbid encryped sessions, which would mean people can't access their VPNs. And nobody in his right mind would surf from a public hotspot without a VPN or at least an SSL/TLS encrpyted session.

    And as if that's not enough proof for you: a determined person can still use steganography to embed an encrypted stream inside a regular port 80 HTTP session. Therefore you cannot prevent people from accessing porn over public wifi. All you can do is make it more inconvenient for everyone to browse securely.

    Conclusion: You can't stop it, so don't even try.

    1. Re:No technical solutions for social problems by zwei2stein · · Score: 2

      In general, you shouldn't try to solve social non-problems with technical solutions.

      Conclusion: You should't stop it, so don't even try.

      --
      -- Technology for the sake of technology is as pathetic as eschewing technology because it's technology.
    2. Re:No technical solutions for social problems by Geeky · · Score: 3, Informative

      And nobody in his right mind would surf from a public hotspot without a VPN or at least an SSL/TLS encrpyted session.

      Yeah, when I'm reading the BBC news website in Starbucks it's vital that it's over a VPN or SSL. Not.

      Public wi-fi should be fine to use. Most email now uses encrypted connections, and beyond that just teach people the rule of thumb that if you don't know what you're doing (i.e. can't confirm it's secure), it's best to avoid using sites that you log on to when using public wi-fi.

      And no, you can't stop it, but that's because it's impossible to identify. Do you block google image search? Only have whitelisted sites? Other than that, it's impossible to block, but can be made hard enough that most people won't bother.

      --
      Sigs are so 1990s. No way would I be seen dead with one.
    3. Re:No technical solutions for social problems by eennaarbrak · · Score: 2

      Although everything you said is true, it is all irrelevant. David Cameron does not care whether you can stop accessing pornography through public hot spots. He just needs to prove to his voters that he is doing his best.

  5. Guess he has never heard of VPN and proxies by gweihir · · Score: 2, Insightful

    There is really no other way he could claim something as stupid as this otherwise. Just your average clueless control-freak politician. I do not even find the strength to despise him, this has gotten far, far too common.

    --
    Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    1. Re:Guess he has never heard of VPN and proxies by tonywestonuk · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I dont think they care, about VPN or proxies. If you have these, then you're obviously old and wise enough to be able to look at whatever you want, whenever you want.

      This is about minors, kids, who end up getting porn on there phones/tablets by accident, while looking for something innocent.

    2. Re:Guess he has never heard of VPN and proxies by Inda · · Score: 2

      I disagree. This is about Cameron getting his photo opportunity and creating soundbites for the media. He's so shallow. He'll u-turn this when it's found to be unworkable too.

      Who the hell stumbles on porn by accident? In my 15 years of internet use, I have never ever hit a porn site by accident. I have seen too many adverts for porn though; perhaps he should start there.

      I do visit a site with funny pictures, and they have a sub-section where lovely ladies like to show their tits. Would that be on the list too? This is my concern. Where does it stop?

      --
      This post contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
    3. Re:Guess he has never heard of VPN and proxies by locofungus · · Score: 2

      This is about minors, kids, who end up getting porn on there phones/tablets by accident, while looking for something innocent.

      I don't think it's anything to do with "accident". Yes, occasionally, some idiot posts some disguised link and managed to get people to click on it (I've been caught out a couple of times in slashdot posts before they started putting the domain after the link)

      But mostly I suspect it's 13+ year olds going looking for porn. Which we all did. Back in my day though it was all still photography in magazines. VHS was around but I never even saw a pornographic VHS cassette, let alone watch what was on it.

      One of the problems is that what is depicted in porn, especially today when video is easily accessible, is not "normal." Children are getting a distorted view of what normal relationships are about.

      The solution, however, is to educate them about what normal relationships are. To teach them that porn is, for the most part, a fantasy. That within a normal sexual relationship some people do live out some fantasies and that it's OK for others to say "that's not for me" and that it's not OK to pressure others into doing things that they aren't willing to do or ready for. It's most especially not OK to use porn as an example to say "well they're doing it."

      A porn block won't work. Teenage boys are going to get porn regardless of what adults try. Accept that fact and work with it instead of trying to deny it.

      Tim.

      --
      God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = -@B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t," and there was light.
  6. Cue all the problems that AOL had when they tried by Chrisq · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Cue all the problems that AOL had when they tried to censor the internet for their UK subscribers: Blocking of breast cancer awareness sites, Penistone council websites, and so on.

  7. OpenDNS by troon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Of course a complete block would be impossible. What's needed is something like OpenDNS. I use it for my home network, with (in)appropriate categories blocked. This means it's far less likely the kids will stumble across (in a few years' time, read "successfully search for") anything we'd rather they didn't see.

    The router acts as a DNS forwarder for OpenDNS's servers, and it blocks outgoing port 53 requests from machines on the LAN. This stops anyone configuring their own DNS server to get around my block.

    This is by no means infallible: a proxy, a DNS server not on port 53, an external online IP address lookup - all of these will get around it. My intent is to reduce the likelihood of inappropriate material making it onto the LAN.

    --
    Ydco co ,df C erb-y go. a Ekrpat t.fxrapev
    1. Re:OpenDNS by Cenan · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I'm pointing out that there is no problem to solve with this "solution". Apart from the "solution" being a false sense of security on the part of the parent at the very best, there are no benefits to this.

      The child who wishes to see pornography (or other controversial content for that matter) will do so through other channels. The solution has already fostered an atmosphere where the child cannot tell this to the parent, because there is already a blanket ban on porn in the household. So as a parent implementing this kind of thing you have effectively cut yourself out of a very important part of your child's life and upbringing.

      If the parent chose to talk to the child about these things, and many other things they are bound to run into out in the real world, the "solution" is not necessary. It is akin to the debate on drinking. You can either ban it and risk having you teenage girl featured on girls gone wild, or you can teach your kid to drink responsibly (because trust me, chances are high that they will drink) and significantly lower that risk.

      --
      ... whatever ...
  8. What a great use of money by PhamNguyen · · Score: 5, Insightful

    His intervention comes after a long-running campaign from children’s charities to ensure a blanket ban on unacceptable sites on public WiFi networks.

    Because when I donate money to a children's charity, that's exactly what I'm hoping the money will be spent on. Think of all the children saved by these campaigns.

    1. Re:What a great use of money by Hatta · · Score: 2

      Government censorship is a lot more likely to hurt people than icky videos.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  9. But what sort of porn? by auric_dude · · Score: 2

    FTA; "His intervention comes after a long-running campaign from childrenâ(TM)s charities to ensure a blanket ban on unacceptable sites on public WiFi networks." It would be good to see the full list of sites that are banned because you never know some non porn sites may be slipped in at the behest of political, business, religious or assorted pressure / lobby groups.

    1. Re:But what sort of porn? by Merls+the+Sneaky · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Someone in the UK aught to add that they want religious material blocked as well. After all if you're blocking "offensive" content you better make sure you block everything people find "offensive". You should block all "offensive" content or none of it. I personally find exposing children to religion is harmful, more so than pornography.

  10. Re:wtf, mate? by AlphaWolf_HK · · Score: 2

    You can say that again. I thought the US was very anti-pornography, and if you believe anything Bill Maher says, Americans are more sensitive to that kind of thing than anybody. Yet other than child pornography, there hasn't been any significant effort to ban it from either private homes or public places. This, as well as the recent European parliament nearly banning all forms of pornography, hints to me that it may not be quite what it seems.

    I probably shouldn't be surprised though. The US has this reputation as being one of the most racist countries in the world, yet all of the known race baiting groups in the US are relatively silent compared to those in Europe where neo-nazism is far more more common, apparently. They even have people who are openly neo-nazi in their parliament ffs.

    http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/neo-nazis-and-right-wing-extremists-gaining-support-in-greece-a-894596.html

    --
    Careful with names containing L slashdot.org/~AiphaWolf_HK slashdot.org/~AlphaWoif_HK slashdot.org/~AiphaWoif_HK
  11. Re:You can ban public wifi porn but you can't enfo by AlphaWolf_HK · · Score: 2

    But is there anything you can do about the shit?

    --
    Careful with names containing L slashdot.org/~AiphaWolf_HK slashdot.org/~AlphaWoif_HK slashdot.org/~AiphaWoif_HK
  12. Re:Define pornography by tehcyder · · Score: 4, Informative

    Define it first you Socialist prick!

    Whatever kind of prick David Cameron is, it's not a socialist one, genius.

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  13. It's a Catholiban terrorist dictatorship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That's where the whole notion of sex/porn being "dirty" and "bad" comes from. Churches and mental illness.

    Imagine they'd try the same for other basic human things like... for instance.. eating.
    - I bet you like the smell of a freshly cooked meal... Perv!
    - Of course food sites and cooking shows should be forbidden!
    - A glass of milk being shown on national television? Moogate!!! Chaos!!
    - You eat by yourself? Ewww, you perv! Don't you know you will go blind?
    - You had dinner in public? Off to jail with you!
    - A milk-drinking toddler saw you having lunch? Die you pedo!

    This is the fucked-up world religious terrorism wants to enforce. I, for one, proclaim: NOT. WITH. ME!

    Sex is not a sin.
    Oppression is.

    1. Re:It's a Catholiban terrorist dictatorship by Yoda222 · · Score: 2

      UK and catholic ? Really ?

    2. Re:It's a Catholiban terrorist dictatorship by cbiltcliffe · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Sex is not a sin.
      Oppression is.

      As a Christian, I agree with this 100%.
      Many sins have been committed in the name of God, and calling sex a sin is one of them.
      I mean, think about it: assuming you believe in God, then you also probably believe people were designed and created by God. In that case, sex was also designed by God, so how could it possibly be a sin?

      --
      "City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
    3. Re:It's a Catholiban terrorist dictatorship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      That's where the whole notion of sex/porn being "dirty" and "bad" comes from. Churches and mental illness.

      It always comes up, this, in discussions about porn. Sex is normal and healthy. What could be wrong about looking at depictions of a couple engaging in this healthy, normal act.

      And if that's what porn was about, I'd agree. But a great deal of porn is about transgressive acts, and nasty attitudes. Rape fantasies are common. The notion that "no means yes" is common. The notion that all women turn into sluts when you scratch the surface. Getting pleasure from spitting, slapping and insulting someone (or I guess from being subjected to that). And of course, body parts of abnormal size.

      Most adults can tell the difference between fantasy and reality (although, possibly, fewer than you'd hope -- especially when there's the 'gonzo' genre that masquerades as amateur). But children find it more difficult. So we have boys growing up with these unpleasant ideas about what it's OK to do to women, and girls growing up with these harmful ideas of what society expects of them. (I'm talking about hetero porn, because that's what experience I have).

      Sure, there *is* porn in which two people are mutually attracted and have mutually enjoyable, considerate sex. But it's not all that common, and consumers tend to shift up to something more interesting (i.e. more extreme and transgressive).

      I don't know the answer. I'm opposed to censorship. But neither am I dumb enough to say that porn is harmless.

    4. Re:It's a Catholiban terrorist dictatorship by Chrisq · · Score: 2

      If church attendance is your metric, then the UK is an overwhelmingly non-religious country.

      In the 2009 British Social Attitudes survey 50.9% said "no religion", 19.9% Church of England, 8.6% Catholic.

      That contradicts the 2011 census, mind you, which says 59% Christian (with no published breakdown of denomination). Must be slightly differently worded questions.

      I think that part of it was probably because the question was voluntary in the census. Some agnostics, and people who might feel an affiliation to a religion but not believe it, would probably have not answered rather than picking the rather definite sounding "no religion".

    5. Re:It's a Catholiban terrorist dictatorship by cheekyjohnson · · Score: 3, Insightful

      But a great deal of porn is about transgressive acts, and nasty attitudes. Rape fantasies are common. The notion that "no means yes" is common. The notion that all women turn into sluts when you scratch the surface. Getting pleasure from spitting, slapping and insulting someone (or I guess from being subjected to that). And of course, body parts of abnormal size.

      And how do you know this?

      In any case, even if that were true, I believe banning it (even just in certain places) would be morally wrong.

      But children find it more difficult.

      Interestingly enough, I don't see children running around raping and murdering random people very often, so I highly doubt it's a widespread problem even assuming it actually happens.

      But neither am I dumb enough to say that porn is harmless.

      Porn is most likely harmless to a grand majority of people. There.

      --
      Filthy, filthy copyrapists!
    6. Re:It's a Catholiban terrorist dictatorship by mjr167 · · Score: 2

      I agree with you, but find your logic flawed. Sex is an action. If it was created by god and is therefore good, murder is also an action that was created by god...

      Your reasoning falls into the "all natural things (like arsenic) are good and all man-made things (like computers) are evil" bucket.

    7. Re:It's a Catholiban terrorist dictatorship by shoemilk · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Prude much? Or just ignorant of ummm culture? Or just dumb?

      It always comes up, this, in discussions about porn. Sex is normal and healthy. What could be wrong about looking at depictions of a couple engaging in this healthy, normal act.

      And if that's what porn was about, I'd agree. But a great deal of porn is about transgressive acts, and nasty attitudes.

      A great deal of people talking is about transgressive acts and nasty attitudes. Should we ban talking from places? Seriously how is "Pizza's here - open the box to my cock - fucking" worse than two frat boys talking about beating the shit out of someone else or wanting to? Or two girls trash talking another?

      Rape fantasies are common. The notion that "no means yes" is common.

      define "common". If you mean it to be more than 50% umm, then I'd like to see some citation. 30% isn't common. Even then this needs a big fat [citation needed]

      The notion that all women turn into sluts when you scratch the surface.

      Wait, I thought porn was about rape? Which is it?

      Getting pleasure from spitting, slapping and insulting someone (or I guess from being subjected to that).

      People don't need porn for this. People insult other people on a daily basis, if not more. I've seen 5,000 times more slapping on run of the mill TV shows than I have in all the porn I've seen. If you're that offended by spitting, do yourself a favor and never ever go to China. Or hang out near prepubescent boys.

      And of course, body parts of abnormal size.

      Fuck you and your holier-than-thou attitude on how people should look. So some people like fat porn. Oh, wait, you're talking about 18 inch cocks? So what am I not supposed to go outside anymore? Or are you talking about girls with big fake tits? If so, don't watch any sort of South American TV.

      Most adults can tell the difference between fantasy and reality (although, possibly, fewer than you'd hope -- especially when there's the 'gonzo' genre that masquerades as amateur). But children find it more difficult.

      You're so right. We need to get on banning Harry Potter before more children think they're wizards. Non-fiction is hereby banned because kidz iz dumbz.

      So we have boys growing up with these unpleasant ideas about what it's OK to do to women, and girls growing up with these harmful ideas of what society expects of them.

      From porn?! Men beat their wives because they watch PORN?! Girls have weight issues because they watched PORN?! You're dumb and so are the retards that modded you insightful.

      (I'm talking about hetero porn, because that's what experience I have).

      I have experience with it all and well, I can tell you 95% doesn't have any of the shit you've been spouting in it. Except for that German stuff. Freaky~!

      Sure, there *is* porn in which two people are mutually attracted and have mutually enjoyable, considerate sex.

      You mean like most of it?

      But it's not all that common,

      Inconceivable! You keep using that word, but I don't think it means what you think it means.

      and consumers tend to shift up to something more interesting (i.e. more extreme and transgressive).

      Umm, you're full of it. I've got over 20+ years of pron watching experience and I'm not into BDSM, skat, snuff, beast, or anything more than guy-meets-girl guy-fucks-girl. Hell, I'm not even fond of anal. People like what they like. They don't start liking shit because they're bored. Again, you are stupid.

      I don't know the answer. I'm opposed to censorship. But neither am I dumb enough to say that porn is harmless.

      No, you're just dumb. I'm surprised you didn't say anything in there about going blind or hairy hands. The rest of the drivel you spouted sounds just the same.

    8. Re:It's a Catholiban terrorist dictatorship by cheekyjohnson · · Score: 2

      How many would it take?

      A large percentage of the people who view pornography. A few news stories where the reporters make assumptions about the cause of whatever happened will not be enough.

      Earlier this year there was the widely reported rape of an unconscious girl at a US college party -- made all the more horrifying because so many of the people there thought there was nothing wrong with what had happened.

      You assume that that happened because of pornography? This is exactly what I'm talking about. You will not be able to convince me like that. As I read the rest of your comment, it looks like you just blame everything on pornography. But again, even if it was the fault of pornography (How could it be? It would be the fault of people who are influenced by it and take action, anyway.) that these things happened, that doesn't mean that those types of things happen often, or that education wouldn't suffice.

      I have trouble believe that there are a significant amount of people who believe everything they see in pornography, and you certainly haven't done anything to convince me otherwise.

      --
      Filthy, filthy copyrapists!
  14. Re:wtf, mate? by tehcyder · · Score: 4, Informative

    What the hell does the UK government have against porn? This is the second time they've tried to ban it.

    I think you'll find that a large proportion of the UK population would agree that porn in public is a bad thing. We still cover up "top shelf" magazines in newsagents so you can't see the boobs. It wasn't until the advent of widespread internet access that any sort of hardcore porn was legal here. (I assume they just gave up at that point).

    Supporting porn is not a vote winner here.

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  15. Re:You can ban public wifi porn but you can't enfo by tehcyder · · Score: 2

    Because i'll still masturbate in the starbucks bathroom to 2girls1cup and there aint shit you can do about it.

    Yeah! Fight the power!

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  16. Re:wtf, mate? by stenvar · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Most Europeans only know about the US what is spoon-fed by their government-friendly media and their state-run education systems. And those governments love to tell their people how evil the US is because it allows them to advance their own extreme left and extreme right agendas. That's not a new phenomenon: monarchs and dictators have been telling Europeans how lucky they are not to be in America for nearly 200 years (just as millions of Europeans were voting with their feet).

    Here's a quote from a famous German "politician":

    I don't see much future for the Americans ... it's a decayed country. And they have their racial problem, and the problem of social inequalities ... my feelings against Americanism are feelings of hatred and deep repugnance ... How can one expect a State like that to hold together - a country where everything is built on the dollar?

    It's scary to think that a large fraction of German politicians think and say pretty much the same thing today.

  17. Re:1984?? by tehcyder · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You will only ever see what you search for on a WiFi system. Forcing ISP's and/or individual establishments that provide free internet access to monitor and block specific traffic is tantamount to authoritarian governance. I see absolutely no difference between this concept and how Egypt or Israel or Iran are manipulating and controlling the information that their citizens have access to. Honestly, please explain the difference? if any?

    This is about accessing material over public wi fi. I may be unusual here, but I prefer to view porn in the comfort of my own home, and I certainly don't want to watch people jizzing into their coffee in Starbucks.

    And even if the UK government banned porn entirely (which is of course not technically possible without completely abandoning internet access) it still wouldn't amount to censorship like in Iran or China.

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  18. Re:People In Glass Houses... by stenvar · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So you're saying that Bush's quote is wrong?

    “Because European countries now resolve differences through negotiation and consensus, there's sometimes an assumption that the entire world functions in the same way. But let us never forget ... beyond Europe's borders, in a world where oppression and violence are very real, liberation is still a moral goal, and freedom and security still need defenders.”

    You're saying that Europeans are not using negotiation and consensus to resolve their differences? That beyond Europe's borders, the world is not violent and full of totalitarian governments? Really, I'm trying to understand what part of Bush's quote you find objectionable.

    (The first part of your message just demonstrates your complete ignorance. "Billions of Europeans"? Corporate-run education systems?)

  19. In general.. by intellitech · · Score: 2

    Technically illiterate people shouldn't make policy decisions regarding technology.

    --
    vos nescitis quicquam, nec cogitatis quia expedit nobis ut unus moriatur homo pro populo et non tota gens pereat.
  20. Re:People In Glass Houses... by Cenan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    As apparent from 50+ years of foreign policy fail, I'd say it is about time to abandon the meme that everything can be solved with guns and enough boots on the ground. It didn't work in Korea, It didn't work in Vietnam, it didn't work in Iraq the first time, it didn't work in Iraq the second time, it didn't work in Afghanistan (not even for the Soviets). How is that not sinking in yet? How fucking stupid do you have to be to not get that?

    --
    ... whatever ...
  21. Re:wtf, mate? by Lemming+Mark · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I don't really agree with that in modern day Europe. The media companies don't toe the government line more than you'd expect in any country with a free press. There are often concerns about the closeness of ties between politicians and media but I think that's pretty common in Western countries. Moreover, in the UK the government itself makes a big deal of how important our relationship with the US is. Besides that, I'd argue that you're underestimating the reach of both the Internet and US culture generally. The Internet makes it easy to get access to a wide range of news sources, at least for those who are motivated to do it.

    Probably more importantly, I'd guess that easily half the popular TV and most of the movies in Europe (and probably much of the world) comes from the US - there's a lot of information about US culture, self-image, even simple turns of phrase that continuously percolates into everyone's minds from this alone. People continually get (arguably idealised, since this is Hollywood) images of what the US stands for, what it's like to be American, etc. In terms of the vast entertainment industry, I'd argue that Europeans are routinely shown the same image of the US that Americans themselves receive.

  22. Re:wtf, mate? by TheRaven64 · · Score: 3, Insightful
    There's a difference between being opposed to porn in public and being in favour of government-mandated censorship. No one has yet produced a porn filter that restricts access to all porn, but doesn't restrict access to anything else, so we'll either end up with a system that has false negatives and still allows porn through (in which case why bother) or has false positives and blocks things that should be completely acceptable (in which case it's very easy to abuse). Worse, this will likely end up with the same lack of accountability that the IWF ended up with, where the government didn't legislate the block list, they just threatened the ISPs with stricter legislation if they didn't 'voluntarily' comply, so you have a private organisation with no public oversight responsible for censoring almost every UK web connection.

    And, as the other poster pointed out, there is a difference between a public hotspot and being in a public place.

    --
    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  23. Re:People In Glass Houses... by TrollstonButtersbean · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Guns and boots on the ground don't solve everything, but dismissing the aggressive approach to aggressive countries is counterproductive.

    Third world countries are generally third world countries because they are prone to uncivilized and backwards politics and agendas.

    If you don't keep an eye on them, they not only will tend to strong arm tactics towards their people, but externalize the source of the problems to first world countries leading to aggression. Like North Korea did little more than a week ago, like Libya once was fond of doing, etc.

  24. Re:Cue all the problems that AOL had when they tri by Rufty · · Score: 2

    Penistone, Scunthorpe and Clitheroe. But Milton Keynes was OK???!?

    --
    Red to red, black to black. Switch it on, but stand well back.
  25. Excellent by lightknight · · Score: 2

    I can see that he's this generation's Marie Antoinette. "Derp, derp, no pr0n from wifi hotspot, do it because I'm a political bigwig!" "My lord, it's impossible to censor anything without whitelisting..." "Just do it, DERP!" 10 weeks later. "OMG, I can't get anywhere on these hotpots, WTF did you guys do?" "Only what you asked us to." "I didn't ask you to do this! Fix it!" "I shall have the elves get to work on it right away sire, but it may require one of the Crown Jewels..." "Umm...what?" "Nothing" 10 weeks later. "OMG, people can get to pr0n sites!" "Umm, h@x0ors?" "Ah."

    --
    I am John Hurt.
  26. Re:People In Glass Houses... by Cenan · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Enough guns and boots can overthrow any regime, but that doesn't solve the problem. Answering aggression with more aggression is going to cause even more aggression (insurgents for instance). If you really want to solve the problem in a third world country, not only do you have to dispose of the ruling class/despot, you also have to educate the majority so that the country as a whole does not relapse.

    You cannot expect swift application of bullets to be able to deliver the same kind of social evolution that has taken hundreds of years for the western world. This is not some kind of recipe that you can just point to and say "hey look, that's how society is supposed to work, now implement it". Education, information and negotiation is key. Once people understand why change needs to happen, you can apply guns at will. The people might even help you.

    --
    ... whatever ...
  27. Re:Define pornography by slim · · Score: 2

    I'm not sure the Lib-Dems would claim to be socialists either.

    I don't think there's a mainstream socialist party left in the UK -- although I still cling to the hope that Labour will swing back to the left one day.

  28. Re:Why not... by serviscope_minor · · Score: 2

    Why not just encourage people to stare at public porn fiends? I mean, looking at porn in public is gross and weird. This is just one of those things that takes care of itself, though, you know?

    Indeed. Looking at internet porn in public is no different than 20 years ago the grubby be-mackintoshed guy "reading" a dirty magazing in public. It's gross and weird and people like that were generally dealt with just fine.

    It's a social problem (if it is really a problem at all---I'm sure the scale has been exaggerated) and needs a social solition.

    "'ello 'ello 'ello what's going on 'ere then?"

    "It's OK, officer, you see I downloaded these at home, not on the public wifi. In fact my wifi isn't even on!"

    "I see sir. Make sure you only watch those ones."

    "Would it be OK if I downloaded some new ones over my private 3G modem"

    "Would it be over the public wifi?"

    "No..."

    "OK, carry on then sir."

    --
    SJW n. One who posts facts.
  29. Re:Define pornography by eennaarbrak · · Score: 2

    To an American, the UK is socialist end of story. I mean, we have stuff like universal medical care and welfare and stuff.

  30. And ? by Stu101 · · Score: 2

    From my point of view (and it is only that!) I don't see what is so wrong with banning it from public wifi spots. Two things occur to me:

    Firstly, it means less issues with people who don't know better browsing for it in Starbucks for example.

    Secondly, if you want it, go home and download or if you are really stuck, just buy a personal hotspot thingy from your provider.

    Lastly (ok that makes 3) it probably reduces your susceptibility to lawsuits (Oh my little johnny say a nipple and is now traumatised, show me the money) as the providers have made a reasonable effort to keep it clean.

    --
    http://www.writeitfor.us - Writing IT for the IT generation.
  31. Re:Define pornography by Pax681 · · Score: 2

    Define it first you Socialist prick!

    David Cameron... a socialist? BWAHAHAHAHA! what planet do you live on?? that prick is slightly right of Atilla the Hun!

  32. Re:Define pornography by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yes, but until they decide to start using their own language rather than piggy back on ours I think it's fair to remind them what words actually mean.

  33. Re:Define pornography by Cwix · · Score: 2

    Shit, here in flyover country many people would call that communism. Don't worry they will pray for you though.

    --
    You are entitled to your own opinions, not your own facts.
  34. How to do it? by poofmeisterp · · Score: 2

    Exactly how this will be implemented has not been identified, even to the extent of whether the ISP or the hotspot operator should implement the blocking.

    Just ask China.

  35. Now that the UK economy is roaring under Cameron by MSBob · · Score: 2

    the prime minister can tend to more urgent issues like porn at Starbucks. Got it.

    --
    Your pizza just the way you ought to have it.
  36. Re:wtf, mate? by Hatta · · Score: 2

    There's a difference between being opposed to porn in public and being in favour of government-mandated censorship.

    No, there is no such difference.

    --
    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  37. Re:People In Glass Houses... by StoneyMahoney · · Score: 2

    A ex-RAF regiment friend of mine and I have come to the conclusion that Afghanistan is where nations go to lose wars - including the Afghans.