BT, Sky, and Virgin Enforce UK Porn Blocks By Hijacking Browsers

An anonymous reader writes with this story at Ars Technica, excerpting: BT, Sky, and Virgin Media are hijacking people's web connections to force customers to make a decision about family-friendly web filters. The move comes as the December deadline imposed by prime minister David Cameron looms, with ISPs struggling to get customers to say yes or no to the controversial adult content blocks. The messages, which vary by ISP, appear during browser sessions when a user tries to access any website. BT, Sky,TalkTalk and Virgin Media are required to ask all their customers if they want web filters turned on or off, with the government saying it wants to create a "family friendly" Internet free from pornography, gambling, extreme violence and other content inappropriate for children. But the measures being taken by ISPs have been described as "completely unnecessary" and "heavy handed" by Internet rights groups. The hijacking works by intercepting requests for unencrypted websites and rerouting a user to a different page. ISPs are using the technique to communicate with all undecided customers. Attempting to visit WIRED.co.uk, for example, could result in a user being redirected to a page asking them about web filtering. ISPs cannot intercept requests for encrypted websites in the same way.

Comments

Re:Goatse filtering is a feature

[LVSlushdat]

Outlawing everything you find personally objectionable or that you don't want your children to see if the mark of an asshole.

Actually its the mark of a statist/totalitarian masquerading as a Conservative.. Most *actual* Conservatives don't like those things, but we don't try to prevent others from partaking of them. All we ask is to not shove the fact you're doing these things in our faces.. Such as.. we believe homosexuality is a sin, but we don't give a damn what you do in the privacy of your bedroom.. Not to mention, most of us do NOT hate gays, we hate the sin.. BIG difference there.. Hate the sin, NOT the sinner... I suspect I'd have to classify myself as a Conservative/Libertarian... I believe in the motto "live and let live"...

Bottom line: David Cameron is as far from a true Conservative as one of the old-line USSR dictators...