Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Joe Shlabotnik

(5,604 posts)
Fri Jan 3, 2014, 05:54 PM Jan 2014

David Cameron's internet porn filter is the start of censorship creep

Pious arguments about protecting innocence are invariably marshalled in the service of public ignorance. When the first opt-in filtering began, it was discovered that non-pornographic "gay and lesbian" sites and "sex education" content would be blocked by BT. After an outcry, the company quickly changed the wording on its website, but it is not clear that more than the wording has been changed. The internet is a lifeline for young LGBT people looking for information and support – and parents are now able to stop them finding that support at the click of a mouse.

The category of "obscene content", for instance, which is blocked even on the lowest setting of BT's opt-in filtering system, covers "sites with information about illegal manipulation of electronic devices [and] distribution of software" – in other words, filesharing and music downloads, debate over which has been going on in parliament for years. It looks as if that debate has just been bypassed entirely, by way of scare stories about five-year-olds and fisting videos. Whatever your opinion on downloading music and cartoons for free, doing so is neither obscene nor pornographic.

The worst thing about the porn filter, though, is not that it accidentally blocks a lot of useful information but that it blocks information at all. With minimal argument, a Conservative-led government has given private firms permission to decide what websites we may and may not access. This sets a precedent for state censorship on an enormous scale – all outsourced to the private sector, of course, so that the coalition does not have to hold up its hands to direct responsibility for shutting down freedom of speech.

More worrying still is the inclusion of material relating to "extremism", however the state and its proxies are choosing to define that term. Bearing in mind that simple protest groups like tax justice organisation UK Uncut have been labelled extremist by some, there is every chance that the categories for what constitutes "inappropriate" online content will be conveniently broad – and there's always room to extend them. The public gets no say over what political content will now be blocked, just as we had no say over whether we wanted such content blocked at all.
Full article at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/03/david-cameron-internet-porn-filter-censorship-creep

Related:
Porn filter blocks website of MP who campaigned for it http://crave.cnet.co.uk/software/porn-filter-blocks-website-of-mp-who-campaigned-for-it-50013120/

Go Away Cameron: UK's porn filters foiled by Chrome extension http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-12/23/go-away-cameron?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook
1 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
David Cameron's internet porn filter is the start of censorship creep (Original Post) Joe Shlabotnik Jan 2014 OP
Why do you support rape? EOTE Jan 2014 #1

EOTE

(13,409 posts)
1. Why do you support rape?
Fri Jan 3, 2014, 05:58 PM
Jan 2014

J/K, but don't be surprised if you encounter similar comments from the folks who thought that this censorship is just dandy. ANY censorship needs to be looked at extremely closely. Of course, Cameron has the advantage of wanting to censor something many people find repellant, but it's rather sad how quickly so many people accepted it.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»David Cameron's internet ...