UK Users Overwhelmingly Spurn Broadband Filters

nk497 (1345219) writes "Broadband customers are overwhelmingly choosing not to use parental-control systems foisted on ISPs by the government — with takeup in the single-digits for three of the four major broadband providers. Last year, the government pushed ISPs to roll out network-level filters, forcing new customers to make an "active" decision about whether they want to use them or not. Only 5% of new BT customers signed up, 8% opted in for Sky and 4% for Virgin Media. TalkTalk rolled out a parental-control system two years before the government required it and has a much better takeup, with 36% of customers signing up for it. The report, from regulator Ofcom, didn't bother to judge if the filters actually work, however."

Comments

Question:

[Savage-Rabbit]

Dear internet user, would you like the Tory Party to think for you?
[ ] Yes.
[X] No.

More inconvienient than the average filter.

[timrod]

I haven't dealt with any of these British ISPs because I am not British, but it seems like these filters are done at the ISP level, and the connection owners have to call in to turn the filter off. Filters are already enough of a pain for both parents and other places that wish to use them. An example of this:

I went to a Catholic high school. During my Freshman year, the school's sysadmins implemented a very restrictive web filter that was on at all times and that only they could turn off. The sysadmins didn't come in every day - I think they were only there three days a week and even then not there full-time. Right away, conflicts started to form between the teachers and the sysadmins. One of the things the filter blocked was Google Image Search, which a lot of teachers wanted to use for school projects and in the classroom. The school's administration insisted that Image Search stay blocked entirely on the vague chance that someone could use it to find porn (never mind the fact that the filter they were using automatically blocked those results on its own) unless a sysadmin was present to oversee its use.

The end result, between the GIS filter and several other ones, was that it was virtually impossible to use the school's computers for schoolwork. I only stayed in that school for another year, but they never managed to resolve the issue.

I can only imagine what would've happened if the teachers had to make a phone call to the school's ISP every time they wanted the filter off, and then a second call every time they wanted it turned back on.

Re:More inconvienient than the average filter.

[ledow]

I work in schools.

What you describe is standard practice in every school I've ever worked in.

Google Images, especially, is one of those "block all or block nothing" sites that policy ALWAYS ends up blocking all. It's just to easy to google something innocent (e.g. "little red riding hood", etc.) and end up with page full of quite obvious porn, even with enforced SafeSearch, a religiously-updated web filter, and custom blocks.

"Virtually impossible" to use the school's computers for schoolwork? How did we live before Google Images? And also, let me tell you, copyright infringement is rife in schools and overlooked right up until the school gets sued for letting you "google image" something, stick it in a document and print it out.

Welcome to real life, where education is more than Google Imaging something, where laws take precedence over your (or my, or the school's) personal choices, and where child protection and "eSafety" policies are mandatory by government inspection.

No system filters perfectly. And you can be sure I get twenty emails every time the system doesn't. But we can't just switch them off without breaking several laws (even if we know that we can only show we tried).

P.S. Stop Google Image'ing. Get licensed clipart. Because when you're older and you "just Google Image" something for your boss, you're setting them up for a lawsuit from the copyright holder.

Re:More inconvienient than the average filter.

[brambus]

Last I checked, there's that thing called fair use that actually allows educational non-profit use of copyrighted works, so you can get off your moral high horse.

>"Virtually impossible" to use the school's computers for schoolwork? How did we live before Google Images?

I also attended school without Internet access, but damn it's a valuable educational resource to have and it wouldn't cross my mind to demolish that resource simply to protect my prudish and backwards sense of morality (assuming I had one). In short: move over grandpa.

Re:More inconvienient than the average filter.

[Anonymous Coward]

Summary: "I work in schools", then proceeds to prove it by demonstrating an appropriate mix of incompetence, paranoia and self-righteous delusions of competence.

Re:More inconvienient than the average filter.

[Anonymous Coward]

Y'know, Google Images now has this helpful little filter that lets you show only Creative Commons-licensed images.

Re:Logically

[SuricouRaven]

The usual approach of the anti-porn brigade is selection bias. They just have to pick out a couple of people who really did get messed up by porn (Easily done: If you've got a billion people looking at it, of course someone is going to get carried away). Then make these the examples, and show off how terrible porn is. Of course, I could show church to be equally damaging by the same approach.

Re:The British Way

[Anonymous Coward]

That's as maybe but we have Healthcare that is FREE at the point of delivery.
Some readers in the US might regard this as a Commie plot to overthrow the world but personally, the treatment I get from the NHS is wonderful.
I got Cancer 5 years ago. From initial diagnosis to first Chemo was less than a week. No constant calling my healthcare provider to check to see if the test or treament was covered by my healthcare plan.