Don't be too shocked, but the UK government's porn filter isn't proving very popular. A new report from communications regulator Ofcom reveals that just one in every seven customers are letting the big four UK ISPs guard them from porn and other online nasties. While tiny minorities of users at Virgin Media (four percent), BT (five percent) and Sky (eight percent) opted to keep the filter, TalkTalk ranked as a significant outlier: it reports that 36 percent of customers enabled the government-mandated filters on their home router. TalkTalk puts it down to the fact it pre-ticks the selection box, meaning more customers are likely to keep the option enabled on their account.
Since December 2013, all new subscribers to these ISPs have been forced into an "unavoidable choice," which allows them to either enable or disable blocks on adult content (including sex, drugs, alcohol, weapons and file-sharing). Virgin Media has shirked that responsibility somewhat, as it only enabled filters in February and has since presented the choice to only 35 percent of customers. However, it blames its complicated installation process (which requires a lengthy engineer visit) for the lack of coverage. Ofcom's findings indicate that a large number of UK households want to be the master of their broadband destiny. Not surprising, really, given that the government has erroneously blocked educational, medical and emergency resources in the past.
[Image credit: hehaden, Flickr]
0 CommentsVia: BBC News
Source: Ofcom (PDF)
Tags: block, broadband, bt, filters, internet, porn, sky, talktalk, uk-feature, virgin media Next: Oculus Rift turns 'X-Men' into a VR head trip .fyre .fyre-comment-divider > span.fyre-comment-reply-wrapper {top: 18px;}.fyre .fyre-comment-divider > a, .fyre .fyre-comment-divider > a:hover {top: 20px;} AboutAbout EngadgetContact usAdvertiseAbout Our AdsCommunityForumsEngadget MetaCommunity guidelinesReviewsProduct reviewsWrite a reviewContributeSend us a tip!Add to our databaseWrite a reviewStart a discussionAsk a questionLive eventsEngadget ExpandEngadget LivePopular topicsMobileHDAltSoftwareAppleFollow EngadgetEngadget AppsMore Apps from Engadget Subscribe to Engadget NewsletterTop categoriescellphoneslaptops / portablestabletsheadphonescamerasroutershdtvs / televisionsportable media playersfitness devicese-book readersdigital media playersMobileCellphonesTabletsBluetooth HeadsetsGPSPhotographyCamerasCamera LensesCamcordersDigital Photo FramesGamingConsoles (home)Consoles (portable)Controllers / GamepadsJoysticks / Flight / RacingComputersLaptops/PortablesDesktopsOperating SystemsPeripheralsKeyboardsMiceMonitorsComputer SpeakersHeadsetsPrintersScannersPen TabletsUSB / Firewire HubsWebcamsPersonal TechHeadphonesPortable Media PlayersE-book ReadersFitnessMiscellaneous DevicesNetworkingRoutersSwitches / HubsStorageExternal Hard DrivesFlash DrivesMemory CardsNetwork StorageRAID / Drive ArraysHome TheaterHDTVs / TelevisionsSpeaker DocksDigital Media PlayersRemotes / ControllersA/V ReceiversDVRsSpeakersVideo Disc Players Engadget International EditionsEspañol繁體中文简体中文日本版DeutschlandAOL Tech.© 2014 AOL Inc.
All rights reserved.Reprints and PermissionsPrivacy PolicyTerms of UseTrademarksAOL A-Z HelpAdvertise with Us
View the Original article
No comments:
Post a Comment