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UK Mobile ISP Blocks VPN, Citing Access To Porn
New submitter santosh.k83 writes with this snippet: "TorrentFreak has learned that VPN provider iPredator is already blocked under the 'adult filter' of some, if not all, mobile providers. TorrentFreak has seen communication between the mobile provider GiffGaff and iPredator which makes it clear that the VPN's website is blocked because it allows kids to bypass the age restrictions. Based on the above it is safe to say that censorship is a slippery slope, especially without any oversight. VPNs are used for numerous purposes and bypassing age restrictions is certainly not the most popular one. If this holds up then proxy services and even Google's cache may soon be banned under the same guise."
You report all suspicious packets, yes?
You can switch off the blocking if you so wish on the giffgaff web site.
News at 11.
When are they going to figure out that they're not qualified to make public policy on technology matters? Censorship sucks (and doesn't work), filtering doesn't work. Here's a suggestion for you instead: How about you get parents to actually pay attention to what their kids are doing instead of making the internet tougher and more annoying to use for everyone?
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
Or the spooks have been putting a bit of pressure on the CEO's. You would be surprised what you can do with a bit of information regarding the lifestyle of board members of an ISP.
I thought the "point" of the filter was to make access to pornographic content opt-in? Wouldn't using a VPN like that just imply you're opting in?
Ban every possible means of bypassing an age filter.
VPN's
Google
Email
Facebook
See how popular it becomes.
Just give it time... remember, remember the 5th of November
Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
free speech tomorrow, its only a matter of time before the internet is dead (worldwide)
maybe pirate radio will become more popular again, and the free speech will flow over the airwaves, the pirate radio i hear lately is crappy music over static on shortwave, yeah, thats what i want to hear low fidelity music on shortwave when i have a nice stereo sitting right here in the room with me, pirate radio has gone to hell nowadays, what i want to hear on pirate radio is something i dont hear anywhere else, like news that is suppressed on mainstream, criticizing of the government that needs to be said but the mainstream is afraid to touch it
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
Living in South Korea (not North Korea, but the actual democractic South), and they're censoring stuff like crazy, and not just porn. Websites like Fark.com can't be accessed at the PC rooms, and I assume that's only going to get worse. If they follow suit with the UK and eliminate access to VPN (the current way to deal with the censoring), what are the ways to deal with this?
(PS: I'm not technologically literate -- it was a real coup just to get VPN working in the first place.)
Growing up in the 1990s I hit puberty right around the time the Internet exploded. I'm first hand evidence that *heavy use of pornography* is not indicative of anything harmful. I started masturbating to really creepy stuff at about 11 too. Creepy has good side effects for some people and there is nothing wrong with that. If anything it probably kept me sane in a world that shuns any sexual deviations.
On the outside I probably didn't seem that different. I had numerous short 'sexual' relationships. However without pornography I would have had a very depressing 'childhood'. I knew from a very early age (after puberty) that there was a near zero percent change I'd ever find a compatible mate and for 17 years I was alone. I gave up dating before a I even really started despite a dozen or so relationships over the years. Statistically there was a near zero chance of finding someone with sufficiently similar tastes (this is after you take into account the Internet and knowledge of how to use a search engine).
One day though I came across someone in the most unlikely of places whom I found interesting. Both sexually attractive (rarity for me) AND with near-identical interests. At first I didn't do anything as it was statistically unlikely they would be in the same boat as me. After 4 days or so I decided to contact them anyway. I took chances occasionally over the years-always being turned down. Turns out he was interested in me as well and he too had an uncommon sexual orientation. We did some fast dating over less than a week (real world) and after a month and 300 miles later he turned his whole life upside down for me. We're now inseparable.
And guess what else- I'm a very important and respectable figure. I'm the CEO of a startup and growing corporation. The only thing that has ever been a real problem for me is other peoples perception of my sexual orientation. Something I've had no choice but to keep quiet about. Everybody has a screwed up view of the world. The media and others have scapegoated people like myself and put forth a negative undeserved stereotype that gives the perception of danger. In reality you can make any group out to be a threat given you pick out crazies from within that group and then use the right communication, of biased words, repeatedly, in a continuous stream of negative shocking propaganda over decades of time.
The tighter the filter, the more people will be annoyed by it and turn it off. And if it really were strictly a porn filter, people might be too embarrassed to opt-out. Now everyone has plausible deniability: "I need to run a VPN for work" or whatever.
This has nothing to do with VPNs in general. It has everything to do with the fact that iPredator was co-founded by Peter Sunde, former spokesman for The Pirate Bay and long term, all-around pain in the ass for the intellectual property complex.
In the beginning it was "Think of children". In my country they drived throw illegal censorship (Our constitution denies censorship). They claimed it would be overseen, etc... It wold only effect servers not in our country.. Today its used for much more then just what it was originally intended. It censors sites critical to to this censorship system, it censors pirate sites (not even claimed to distribute child related material), etc... Censorship is such a dangerous road. Once you take the first step, its so easy to take another and then another and then another.... Until you are light year away from what was originally intended. Theres no oversight of system. List is classified, Who manages that list is classified, and theres no court oversight of it. So if you are wrongly places on censor list, theres no way to get out. It volantery system for ISP to be part of, except if you dont implement it volantery theres law we can make it... Personally i believe its problem of democracy. Too many old folks on power that dont understand modern world. They think sweeping problem under the rug is doing something, because that seemed to work in past. Child related issues will not go away if you put them under the rug, you need to take action... Unfortunately censorship is the wrong choice of action. Smoke and mirror trick that leaves problem un-handled..
I'm sorry, but there are lots of mobile business users that don't know dick about this. These people will call their companies help desk to get the problem sorted.
I wouldn't let anyone in to my office network without a VPN. No that VPN got blocked. Any provider that generates extra work for me or my department, will be on the list of "too bloody expensive" and will lose my business. My current employer happens to have a few hundred people in such a contract and often customers have similar or higher numbers. This will cost the providers that have such silly blocks to lose business customers of all sorts and sizes.
I was promised a flying car. Where is my flying car?
So over the air networks are regulated by the FCC. Nudity, strong language, etc are all regulated. So they have legal limits they have to comply with. However the cable channels, they can do as they wish. Why then are only the premium ones the only ones with (more than a little) nudity? Ad money. The networks all have standards and practices divisions to work with the creators of shows to keep things such that advertisers are happy, and to work with advertisers to keep them happy. Advertisers worry about their brand being associated with certain things and so the networks have to keep them happy. I'm not saying the advertisers are being sensible, but that is how it is.
This is also why some shows can get away with more than others. If it is a big show, that lots of people watch, advertisers will be more willing to STFU and deal to have their spot played during it.
For that matter, the Internet gets similar things going on with ads. For example Fark used have "boobies" posts/threads with links to naked women. Generally pretty tame and not a large part of their content. However, advertisers kept bitching and some refused to do business, so Fark spun that content off in to a different site and now doesn't allow it on the primary domain. There was nothing legally keeping them doing this, just ad revenue.