Sky to block pornography by default to protect children
Sky's Broadband Shield is designed to filter out content deemed to be unsuitable for children aged under 13. It has been offered as default to new customers for a year. But now the firm has decided to also offer it to all its existing customers, some 5.3 million in total.
Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group (ORG), was dismayed by the news. "Censorship should never be turned on by default," he said. "ORG's Blocked project (www.blocked.org.uk) has shown that filters block all kinds of websites, including some that provide useful advice to children and young people. Customers need to understand the implications of filters before deciding whether or not they want them." All the UK's big four ISPs - BT, Virgin Media, Sky and TalkTalk - offer filtering systems to help parents prevent their children viewing inappropriate material online although few have decided to oblige users to adopt the system.
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