UK Government plans even more Internet Censorship

[Firewind]

No doubt you know about the porn. Well great news everyone! The very same measures will also apply to:

• Games.
• Dating.
• Smoking.
• File Sharing.
• Alcohol.
• Drugs.
• Sex, Sexuality and Relationships.
• Web forums.
• Suicide.
• Eating Disorders.
• Web blocking circumvention tools.
• Esoteric Material.

Sources:
One of UK’s favorite ISP-level porn filtering services controlled by Huawei | Ars Technica
UK censorwall will also block "terrorist content," "violence," "circumvention tools," "forums," and more - Boing Boing
Do Not Force ISP Filtering of Pornography and Other Content - e-petitions (Petition for those interested)
https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog...nto-censorship


The stupid thing is that this was never in any manifesto, and it's never been put to a Commons vote. Nobody asked or voted for this. It's just the personal prerogative of Cameron and the Daily Mail. The Government's plans are pretty idiotic once you realise that:

1. "Set it and forget it" is the wrong message to send to parents and just encourages lazy parenting (something Cameron seems to love with how he treats his kids). Filters will not stop children seeing adult content. Never underestimate the determination of teenage boys when it comes to seeing lady parts.
2. Adult filters will not just block pornography. They also restrict access to sites deemed unsuitable for under 18s including information on alcohol and other drugs, forums, YouTube and political views deemed too controversial by the regime. Good luck finding out any of that information with these blocks up. People won't be able to get help and advice on drugs, alcohol, suicide prevention, abuse, rape, sexual abuse, sexual health or sexuality because it will all be blocked.
3. When adult filters are in place, mistakes are made. This needs to be pointed out again. Adult filtering can stop people accessing crucial advice on sexual health, sexuality and relationships. You will also end up with online shops that sell alcohol like ASDA because anywhere that sells alcohol will be blocked by this.
4. Adult filtering amounts to censoring legal content. The UK would be the only modern democratic society to do this. This sets a terrible example to other countries with interests in suppressing information.
5. The people who request to have the filters turned off will no doubt be put in some list. There will be inevitable leaks and the names spread everywhere. Innocent people will be branded as sexual deviants, political enemies, paedophiles, rapists, drug dealers or any combination of the above because they simply wanted to be able to access perfectly innocent information that would be blocked by this.
6. It will also block access to sites where you can get TOR, a browser system that circumvents blocks and is a massive tool in protecting the identities of whistleblowers and journalists working in places like China or Iran.
7. The media will label anyone in the House of Commons that votes against it a supporter of child porn, rape and sexual abuse. Three things that are already illegal and blocked by ISPs.
8. Teenage boys will still work out how to bypass filters and watch porn behind their parents backs anyway rending the whole thing completely pointless.
9. You can't even find stuff like child porn or rape porn on Google or any search engine because the second they find it, it gets blocked and reported.
10. Search engines like Google have safe search options on be default anyway. (okay this is the same as above but I just wanted to round it off with 10).

[Malacite]

Re: UK Government plans even more Internet Censorship

Damn, and I thought our Tories were backwater twats...

[Firewind]

Re: UK Government plans even more Internet Censorship

Basically the UK public is lazy and apathetic and sucessive Governments have known this for years. The general attitude to actually getting off your arse and doing something is "Well I don't want to cause any trouble so it doesn't seem worth it." or "Oh well I'm sure it will sort itself out.". It is one of the major reasons why the Government has been a huge advocate of "Nudge Theory". Basically if you change what gets done by default, nobody will care because it's too much trouble to change it.

Plus anyone who votes against this in the Commons will be instantly branded a paedophile or rapist by the media so this law is extremely likely to go through without any protect whatsoever by Parliament.

There is also this: One of UK’s favorite ISP-level porn filtering services controlled by Huawei | Ars Technica

[Jarre]

Re: UK Government plans even more Internet Censorship

I moderate a depression forum that touches on helping people who self harm and think of suicide I guess that this and all the help sites like MIND, Samaritons etc. will be blocked because of the words suicide on their webpages which basically means people can't search for help!

[cidbahamut]

Re: UK Government plans even more Internet Censorship

I know I've said it before, but your government confuses and terrifies me.

[Firewind]

Re: UK Government plans even more Internet Censorship

I moderate a depression forum that touches on helping people who self harm and think of suicide I guess that this and all the help sites like MIND, Samaritons etc. will be blocked because of the words suicide on their webpages which basically means people can't search for help!

Well just about the entire Citizen's Advice Bureau website will be blocked if this goes through as well so that's my job buggered. It has a ton of information on where to get advice on just about every subject that the Government plans to block.

Touching on moderating stuff, I moderate a Pokemon chatroom and forum and a couple of Roleplay forums and chatrooms. We have information on Port Forwarding on those pages which may well end up also getting blocked, because Port Forwarding can actually be used as a form of circumvention when it comes to Firewalls.

[Aeni]

Re: UK Government plans even more Internet Censorship

You should be sufficiently creeped out by the level of surveillance that the Nazi Security Apparatus is employing on its own citizens.

Researchers say Tor-targeted malware phoned home to NSA | Ars Technica

[Firewind]

Re: UK Government plans even more Internet Censorship

Related to the topic since it is about privacy in the UK, or utter lack of:

Street-side trashcans that track your smartphone banished from London | Ars Technica

[Malacite]

Re: UK Government plans even more Internet Censorship

wtf...

[Firewind]

Re: UK Government plans even more Internet Censorship

And people wonder why voter turnout is so low here when there are no parties that look out for the interests of the average person. Here is a summary of each major Political Party in the UK:

• Labour: Working-class benefits scrounger, illegal immigrant, asylum seeker, or all three. Plus the "champagne socialists" (rich progressives), who are seen as eating tofu and hummus, as well as being knee-jerk Anti-Tory and having an obsessive desire to be identified with the working-class. Will inevitably morph once in office to become ultra-authoritarian. Spend all the money they have and, the money they don't have. If this spending results in increased efficiency (however small), it is obviously a massive success. If it doesn't work, throw more money at it and the problem will sort itself out. While in opposition, will decry Tory policies and promise to repeal them once in power, then tamely accept them as the status quo and do nothing once in power. Don't understand economics.
• Conservatives: Upper-class public-school toffs who want to take more money from the poor to give to the rich, and have duped the workers. They are either mocked as ultra-traditionalist "Shire Tories" who live in the countryside and are obsessed with the nobility and Victorian values; or otherwise slimy young middle-class libertarians who want to abolish the NHS while everyone's backs are turned and worship Ayn Rand. Don't understand economics.
• Liberal Democrats: Cloudcuckoolander who believes his party will ever get in power, or alternatively Labour-lite or, more recently, Tory-Lite. Now actually in power. Once a party which was seen as 'trendy' to support, 'cos the others were too mainstream or something like that. These days, also stereotyped as somewhat hypocritical for jumping into bed with a party they had previously talked about as if it was their archnemesis. Don't understand economics.
• Green : The Bog-Standard Green Stereotype. Bunch of bonkers hippy throwbacks, probably want to extend voting rights to fish, want the NHS to give more priority to crystal healing than heart transplants, are inherently suspicious of anything that could conceivably benefit humanity. Don't understand economics.
• British National Party: Racist. Although they've recently been forced to allow non-white members to join and many actually have. These non-white members are also racist. For example, a Sikh man who hated Muslims was delighted to find like-minded comrades in the BNP. Their main enemies are of course the awful Muslamic ray guns. Specialize at being losing incumbent councillors and having leadership crises. Don't understand economics.
• UKIP: A bunch of xenophobic Little Englanders. Obsessed with World War 2 and compare the Third Reich with the EU constantly. Either seen making tired national stereotypes about the French or fervently campaigning against political correctness. Reads the Daily Express. Believes the EU had banned bendy bananas and cars with more than three wheels. Has obsessed fantasies about launching their own resistance movement against the evil nasty Europeans. Managed to forget to put down their own name on the ballot at the recent London Election. Don't understand economics.
• SNP: Bunch of whiny Scots who watched Braveheart and decided that it should be brought into the 21st century. Basically Labour but more mawkishly nationalistic. Leeches money off English people while claiming they don't need it. Don't understand economics.
• Plaid Cymru: Have a stupid name, obsessed with the necromancy of a long-forgotten and incomprehensible language, physically incapable of doing anything constructive in power. Basically think of all the negative stereotypes of a Welshman and imagine a whole horde of them. Charming, eh? Don't understand economics.
• Respect: A hodge-podge alliance of ageing, unwashed liberals ready to scream "Military-Industrial Complex" if they so much as see a soldier walking to the newsagents, and bearded Muslim Fundamentalists hell-bent on imposing Shariah law in London. Don't understand economics.
• Sinn Fein: Terrorists who have accidentally become politicians. Never show up for work, not that they would get let in if they did. Don't understand economics.
• DUP : Really, really, really conservative. Thinks gay people are abominations or something like that. Don't understand economics.
• Independents : Principled egalitarians who prefer to stay above the pettiness of party politics. In reality though, they are just too egotistical/ugly to join a real party, and tend to base all of their politics on blocking the expansions of airports. Don't understand economics.

[cidbahamut]

Re: UK Government plans even more Internet Censorship

I'm sensing a trend here...

[Yellow Mage]

Re: UK Government plans even more Internet Censorship

I firmly believe that anybody who claims to understand economics is a liar and a charlatan.

[Nestama]

Re: UK Government plans even more Internet Censorship

Welp, I guess us Australians will have to give up our Nanny State trophy. I never thought I would see the day...

I guess the guy who tried to censor the Internet here decided to move to the UK and is trying to do the same there (but succeeding this time?).

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: UK Government plans even more Internet Censorship

Maybe if America is lucky all our baby boomers will die before it gets as bad as politics in Europe.

What am I saying? The NSA is probably reading this right now. Maybe an anime reference will throw them off.