@akyho: Actually, the Sun haven't been a part of that campaign. Which is probably just as well, because they already have a website devoted to their pin-up legacy which would presumably see a lot less traffic. Good thing the Daily Express isn't involved either, considering they're owned by a porn tycoon.
The chief supporter as far as the press is concerned has been the Daily Mail, which is a bit odd considering how they've been obsessed with bikinis as of late. I remember when I found out about it last year, their website was proudly displaying a photo of Katie Price in a sheer top with no bra on.
Dubious moral high horses aside though, I struggle to see this really having the effect they think it will. They're trying to push the anti child porn argument, but I can't help but feel that if you have a penchant for child porn, and all you have to do to get your sweet porn back is call your ISP and ask them to lift the ban on the 'regular' stuff, that's getting off easy.
While it'd be foolish to argue against the notion that the internet has facilitated children's exposure to adult content at ages that were unthinkable 20 years ago, I think it's naive to expect this is going to suddenly stop that. As we've seen with piracy, anyone who really wants it will find a way eventually, so it's dumb to think that teenagers won't be able to use a proxy browser or even a VPN. So, like with piracy and DRM, you're just causing extra hassle for the intended audience.
And of course, it's easy to see ways this could go horribly wrong for everyone...
Minor scenario: We have this system on phones already. They block access to Urban Dictionary. That's a little extreme, but first world problems am I right?
Major scenario: Since these systems are automated, they'll presumably need to have databases of the people who opted in. Thus, it's not unreasonable to hypothesise that your ISP has a database where everyone therein is a potential sex offender. Under British law, there's no anonymity for defendants in a sex offence case, regardless of whether they get convicted or not. Want to imagine how that's going to impact your life if you get falsely accused?
Log in to comment