Online porn filters ‘not stiff enough’

online porn filters 'not stiff enough'David Cameron’s much-trumpeted crackdown on online porn is proving a stiff challenge, according to a new study which shows three of the UK’s ‘big four’ ISPs are failing to filter out graphic images.
Researchers at Mediawatch-UK found that, although most sites were blocked by BT Parental Controls, Sky Broadband Shield and TalkTalk’s HomeSafe, they could easily access hardcore pictures by typing in the word “porn” into the image search on Google, Bing and Yahoo.
The Prime Minister announced new measures to protect children from accessing online pornography and other potentially harmful content in July 2013.
Initial fears that the move could hit many legitimate retail sites – especially those selling lingerie – have proved unfounded, although some sex education and news sites have been blocked.
Vivienne Pattison, director of Mediawatch-UK, said: “We welcome the efforts of the industry to help parents to protect their children but more needs to done to provide parents with adequate tools to enable them to parent effectively.
“Clearly the main ISPs network level filters are failing to provide adequate protection for children. We cannot rely on a voluntary code but need the law to change to ensure that children are protected online to the same extent that they are offline.”
Mediawatch-UK is supporting Baroness Howe’s Online Safety Bill, currently before the House of Lords, would scupper Cameron’s self-regulation and force all ISPs to introduce new measures, including age-verified filtering.

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1 Comment on "Online porn filters ‘not stiff enough’"

  1. Online porn filters prove flaccid in blocking explicit images http://t.co/tNqASUPvEB #digitalmarketing #data

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