An internet filter would be counterproductive

Following Claire Perry’s campaign for porn prohibition, the Department of Education has now launched a consultation on parental internet controls. For those of you unaware of the policy proposals, it is something we should be concerned about as it poses a very real threat to our internet freedoms.

This year, Perry held an independent inquiry on online child protection. The report, released in April, recommended that internet users who wish to view pornography should have to opt-in to it. In other words, there should be default blocking of legal content by internet service providers unless users request this block be turned off. 

From a technical point of view, the introduction of a default adult content filter will be a blunt instrument to deal with the issue. The blocking of websites is not an easy or failsafe solution. The inevitable unintended consequence of over-blocking will impact users and businesses, not to mention the very children themselves who use the internet for school work and entertainment.