Wasting Space…After years of wasting money proposing internet censorship, the government is now crowing about how much will be saved by dropping the idea

Read more Australia Censorship News at MelonFarmers.co.uk

See article from theaustralian.com.au

The axing of Stephen Conroy’s other pet project, the controversial mandatory internet blocking scheme, will save the government more than $4 million. According to Budget 2013 papers, the government will achieve savings of $4.5m over three years by not proceeding with mandatory filtering legislation, a move announced in November. The plan would have forced ISPs to filter web pages that contain refused classification-rated content based on a government blacklist. Instead, major internet service providers will be required to block child abuse websites on Interpol’s worst of child abuse list, and anything else banned by government bodies such as the financial regulator. Senator Conroy mooted the ea in the lead up to the 2007 election but it has been fraught with delays ever since. The methods employed by the government were deemed impractical and seen as an attempt to censor the internet.

British Sky Blocking…Sky Broadband to introduce ISP level website blocking

Read more UK News at MelonFarmers.co.uk

See article from theregister.co.uk

BSkyB has claimed that computer-based parental controls were not enough to protect kids who use web-based services on a variety of devices. So network-level filtering will be applied to the service at some point in 2013. The company quietly announced its plan in a blog post by Sky brand director Lyssa McGowan: [W]e’ve been investigating ways to help provide a whole-home solution in which web content can be filtered out not by a particular device, but at a household-level so that parents can define the type of access they want blocked and the filtering will apply across all connected devices in the home. And I’m delighted to be able to confirm that Sky has committed to offering a whole-home solution to all of our more than 4 million broadband customers. We will also introduce reporting tools to parents so they will know each and every time any changes have been made to the settings they’ve applied, to ensure they are happy with the settings at all times. It’s not yet clear whether website blocking will be turned on by default but it would be most likely be offered as an option to those that request it. In December, Prime Minister David Cameron described on-by-default network-level web filters as a crude system for blocking inappropriate content. The blocking is so overbroad and low quality that adults soon ask for the blocking to be removed.

Negligent Censorship…Church website blocked by low quality blocking algorithms used by Vodafone, Orange and O2

Read more Phone News at MelonFarmers.co.uk

See article from openrightsgroup.org See stmarkssoton.co.uk See blocked.org.uk

The Open Rights Group writes: About this time last year we wrote about a church that had been blocked by O2′s mobile Internet filters. Following this, we set up http://www.blocked.org.uk, a site which allows people to report over-blocking on their mobile networks. With somewhat uncanny timing, this morning someone used blocked.org.uk to tell us about another church (St. Mark’s in Southampton) that is blocked – this time on Vodafone. We have confirmed that it is also blocked by Orange. The site is blocked on O2′s highest blocking setting, but not on their default safety service. Using O2′s very handy URL checker , we have established that they classify the site as alcohol . It is likely that this is the category that has led to its blocking on other networks, but this is not confirmed. *Update: Vodafone have confirmed to us that the site has been manually reviewed and the classification of alcohol has been corrected – the site should be unblocked within the next 2 days* It is likely that the reason for this categorisation is the use of the word wine on the church’s website. The church is part of the New Wine Network of Churches . Their website explains that this means they have the aim of ‘Equipping Churches to see Jesus’ Kingdom Grow’ . Their use of the word wine is not related to selling or the use of alcohol. It’s yet another example of how internet filters make simple and costly mistakes which often result in over-blocking. Our report from May this year collected more examples of this. Since then we have seen political parties, technology news websites, and more recently a number of maternity health sites all blocked by mobile networks. It can be tricky and slow to get sites removed from block lists (although mobile networks say this is improving). Because of the sheer number of websites there are, most categorisation by filtering services is likely done by an algorithm. A human could probably spot the difference between a site advocating the force feeding of your kids too much booze, for example, and a church’s efforts to express their religious mission. Machines find that more difficult, it seems. There are broader questions about who makes judgements about what types of sites should be blocked, and what is appropriate for children of different ages. All of which adds up to a need to ensure parents are supported and are able to make decisions for themselves, rather than having decisions made for them.

A Watershed for the Internet…David Cameron set to bully parents into accepting low quality internet censorship

Read more UK Government Watch at MelonFarmers.co.uk

See article from dailymail.co.uk

The Daily Mail has reported that David Cameron is to bully parents into signing up for impractical internet censorship. In future, anyone buying a new computer or signing up with a new ISP will be asked whether they have children when they log on for the first time. Those answering yes will automatically be taken through the process of installing website blocking for content with an adult theme. They will then be subjected to a series of questions about how stringent they want censorship to be. There will be an option to impose a watershed on adult interest material, and to prevent children viewing social networking sites such as Facebook during certain hours of the day. Ministers will also demand that ISPs impose appropriate measures to ensure that those setting the parental controls are over 18. And they will be told to prompt existing customers to install porn blocking technology. The proposals, due to be announced by the Government later this month, go much further than previously suggested.

Censored by Default…YouGov survey notes about a quarter of parents in favour of a default block on adult related content

Read more UK Government Watch at MelonFarmers.co.uk

Thanks to Therumbler See  article from  cable.co.uk

Less than a quarter of parents are in favour of default online content blocking, a new survey has found. Only one-fifth of UK parents believe default filtering of harmful content is the best system for protecting youngsters online, according to TalkTalk. YouGov, working on behalf of the ISP, found 78% of adults with children in their household are opposed to this solution, which would automatically block adult related material. Instead, 37% of respondents favour giving broadband customers an active choice, in which they are asked when they sign up for an account whether or not they want content to be blocked. A further 30% insisted that websites should only be blocked if they ask for it. In March, TalkTalk introduced an active choice system for broadband subscribers. Known as HomeSafe, the network-level parental controls allow customers to choose the type of content their kids can view while browsing the web. So far, the system has been activated by about one in three new customers – roughly equivalent to the number of households with dependent children. Dido Harding, chief executive of TalkTalk, said: We believe that giving customers an active choice about using controls like HomeSafe is the most effective way to engage them in internet safety.

An Advisory Approach…Maria Miller seems to be unimpressed by the Daily Mail’s default website blocking idea

Read more UK Government Watch at MelonFarmers.co.uk

See  article from  dailymail.co.uk

Parents should take responsibility for stopping their children seeing internet pornography, the new Culture Secretary has said. Maria Miller said the Government was considering calls to make internet companies block access to online pornography. But the Conservative MP insisted that parents had the first and foremost responsibility for monitoring their children’s use of the internet. Miller added that the Government could play a role in advising parents on how to block damaging material on home computers. In an interview Maria Miller, a mother of three, said: I think responsibility is very strongly with parents to make sure that they really understand how their children are using the internet . . . to make sure they are safe. I think probably the awareness of those sorts of pieces of software you can buy or indeed what you can do is not as high as it needs to be

Government Chooses Active Choice…And the consultation is just to keep the Daily Mail nutters happy

Read more UK Government Watch at MelonFarmers.co.uk

See  article from  dailymail.co.uk

Internet firms will be spared Government demands to impose default blocking of websites with content for adults. A leaked email says internet firms have been assured they will not face stringent filtering systems. The revelation makes a farce of a consultation paper that was launched earlier this week asking for views on dealing with adult material. The email says ministers wholeheartedly support active choice in which parents would have to say yes or no to adult material when setting up an internet connection. Last month David Cameron said there was a clear case for looking at default blocks. But this has been ruled out according to the email sent on Thursday by Andrew Kernahan of the Internet Service Providers’ Association to 200 members including BT, Virgin, Sky, AOL and Cable & Wireless. He wrote: I spoke to the Department for Education this morning about the consultation and they made it clear that UKCCIS (the UK Council for Child Internet Safety), ministers and the relevant departments wholeheartedly support active choice and not default filtering or the so-called active choice plus solution. The only reason they are consulting on this is because No 10 told the Daily Mail that they would consult and listen to all views. Proposals: The Government launched a consultation paper an on ‘opt-in system, under which internet service providers would automatically block pornography unless an adult asked for it to be available This is in line with what we’ve been told throughout — that government supports active choice. Helen Goodman, who is Labour’s media spokesman, said: This email is explosive. It is very important we have a proper consultation which gives parents and children’s organisations the chance to say why they want to put children first. It is time ministers stood up for ordinary people rather than big business.

Parental Internet Controls…Government consultation on default website blocking of adult content

Read more UK Government Watch at MelonFarmers.co.uk

See  article from  bbc.co.uk See consultation details from education.gov.uk Closing Date: Thursday 6 September 2012

The government is to consider putting extra pressure on computer users to filter out pornography when setting up internet accounts. The latest system, calledactive choice-plus , is aimed at reaching a compromise. It would automatically block adult content, but would set users a loaded question, along the lines of whether they want to change this to gain access to sites promoting pornography, violence and other adult-only themes. Ministers are suggesting that people should automatically be barred from accessing unsuitable adult material unless they actually choose to view it.  It is one of several suggestions being put out for an e-consultation on how to shield children from pornography. Children’s minister Tim Loughton said: The internet is transforming every aspect of society and family life – and opens up enormous opportunities for us all. But with the benefits come risks. Growing numbers of parents do not feel in control of what their families are exposed to online. Many want to take responsibility, but all too often they do not how know how because they find the technology too difficult to use or their children are more technically advanced then they are. There is no silver bullet to solve this. No filter can ever be 100% foolproof. There is a cottage industry of people, mostly operating outside the UK, continually creating and proliferating ‘proxy’ websites that provide links to adult and harmful content. Automatic filtering on its own risks lulling parents into a false sense of security and there can never be any substitute for parents taking responsibility for how, when and where their children use the internet. The answer lies in finding ways to combine technical solutions with better education, information and, if necessary regulation further down the line. The discussion paper asks for views on three broad options for the best approach to keeping children safe online. It is an e-consultation where responses can be made online. The paper’s introduction reads: Tim Loughton, Minister for Children and Families, and Lynne Featherstone, Minister for Equalities and Criminal Information are joint chairs of the executive board of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS). They are writing to members of UKCCIS to seek their views and advice on parental controls. The request is to members of UKCCIS and other organisations and individuals, especially parents, who might want to respond. See consultation details from education.gov.uk Closing Date: Thursday 6 September 2012.

MelonFarmers gets mentioned in report

A new report from Open Rights Group and LSE Media Policy Project reveals widespread over-blocking on mobile networks, helping to demonstrate why we shouldn’t accept default-on adult Internet filtering

From Mobile internet censorship: what’s happening and what we can do about it [pdf] from openrightsgroup.org

The ORG report contains mystery shopper examples to see how various phone companies handle complaints about false blocking:

Re 3 Mobile Phone Company

We reported to 3 that the site melonfarmers.wordpress.com – a conspiracy theory discussion site – was blocked. The customer services representative asked what message we received when trying to access the site. We told them we were shown a blocking screen telling us over-18 blocking was enabled. We were advised that ‘adult sites’ were automatically blocked on all pay-as-you- go 3 mobile phones.

However, we were not asked what site we were attempting to access, despite our insistence that it contained no adult material. We were then asked if we were having issues accessing other sites like Google or the BBC, and replied no. Again, the representative concluded that the content filter was working correctly and that the site we were trying to access must have some sort of adult material on it, hence its blocking. When we asked 3 how the company classifies blocked websites, the representative told us that 3 does not make the rules, and that the government’ does. We were also informed that no record is made of sites which are reported as incorrectly blocked and our phone would be unblocked once we provided age verification.

This experience seems somewhat at odds with the official propaganda about overblocking.  In an article from bbc.com, Hamish MacLeod, chairman of the Mobile Broadband Group, claimed:

Even allowing for the ORG missing a few, 60 misclassified websites does not amount to anything that could reasonably be described as ‘censorship’, particularly when mobile operators are happy to remove the filters when customers show they are over 18 and will re-classify websites when misclassifications are pointed out to them.

This is how the small handful of websites that get referred to mobile operators each year are already dealt with.

Perhaps a small handful of websites because operators are told to willfully ignore such requests

 

Shadowy Labour…Labour add to the shrill nutter cacophony calling for one size fits all website blocking

Read more UK Parliament Watch at MelonFarmers.co.uk

See article from telegraph.co.uk

Senior Labour MPs have supported a default block on adult websites. Jenny Chapman, the shadow minister for justice, and Helen Goodman, the shadow minister for culture, media and sport, pledged their support. In an article for the Daily Mail they condemned the access to pornography as a modern-day form of pollution. They wrote: Children are regularly seeing pornography and sometimes being groomed for sex. Righting these wrongs is not an attack on civil liberties. Adults will still have the choice to access material they want to see. But in a civilised society we must also protect our children. What we want to see is the same balance of rights and responsibilities as we have in the real world. They also claimed that sales of televisions with internet access meant even more children will be one click from the strongest material. They attacked Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s proposal, which involves asking the four major ISPs to offer new customers the chance to opt out of access to pornography. They argue it would be 2017 before the proportion of households included reached 90%. They added that the plan does not go nearly far enough.