UK's pornography age checks come into force from 15th July

[kalniel]

Oh and another thing, by introducing pornography age checks aren't they admitting that the mandatory network-level Internet filtering program that was championed by Claire Perry and the Daily Mail 5 years ago is a total flop and if so what makes them think this will be any different? If parents can already filter pornography at the ISP level why the need for age verification?

If that's what I'm thinking of, then it works well for access at a home via wifi, but it doesn't address mobile usage over the cellular network.

Balance is important, so while I'm also on the side of generally not restricting the internet, it is worth highlighting that this isn't meant to be foolproof/exhaustive/a silver bullet. It's one small measure aimed at trying to reduce early, accidental, exposure - to material which is far more extreme than what you'd find in a magazine in the shed back in the day. The problem of distorted norms and introducing violence to sexual relationships is affecting children and young adults' mental health, and this is one facet, alongside calls for more appropriate education etc. to try and address that.

[Corky34]

And I'm all for that but not when it has the potential to do more harm than good, i mean don't get me wrong i agree that there's evidence that there's a problem of distorted norms and introducing violence to sexual relationships and that it's affecting children and young adults' mental health, but that's why i said maybe we'd be better off with a child friendly UK intranet.

Also AFAIK mobile usage over the cellular network is also filtered, at least according to Wikipedia it is, i can't say how accurate that is as i don't have a mobile phone that can access the internet (I'm a Luddite )

[TooNice]

Does anybody actually not have a VPN at this point?

Well, China, which has a complete ban on pornography (regardless of age of the consumer), also declared war on VPN (for reasons other than stopping pornography).

Granted that pornography can still be widely found, and there are still functioning VPN, but if there is a will, the government -could- make it inconvenient even if they can't stop it all.

[DanceswithUnix]

If the state doesn't like what private industry is doing with porn, perhaps they should mandate that the BBC make some to a higher standard

[kalniel]

If the state doesn't like what private industry is doing with porn, perhaps they should mandate that the BBC make some to a higher standard

They do...

[Wrinkly]

Guess it was too much to ask of parents to act like parents.

[Jonj1611]

Does anybody actually not have a VPN at this point?

Lots of people don't have vpn's. I expect the majority of the average internet user wouldn't know what a vpn is let alone have one

[Jonj1611]

Guess it was too much to ask of parents to act like parents.

What would you like parents to do? If kids are able to use a vpn or other method of bypassing the porn block I expect they can get around parental controls.

[Corky34]

You wouldn't even need a VPN, there are other ways around it for those with intention that i won't mention as I'm not sure if I'm breaking any laws by speaking about them.

[Jonj1611]

There is TOR which is free and easy to install on the PC and a version is available for android phones.

[DanceswithUnix]

What would you like parents to do? If kids are able to use a vpn or other method of bypassing the porn block I expect they can get around parental controls.

I put in simple dns based filtering when the kids were younger. It is the way of the Internet that for pretty much any subject you can search for there will be a porn version of it somewhere, and kids learn to use Google pretty fast, so you want to block basic accidents.

All the kids had to do to get around my filtering was to reset their DNS and proxy settings. I wasn't going to make the bar any higher, that just adds glamour to the subject.

I know kids who are banned from all but the most basic child friendly sites even as teenagers. They are going so far off the rails when they get some independence...

[DanceswithUnix]

They do...

lol, I googled that image. Seems they had to use a stunt double because he wasn't insured to swim in the lake in case he caught something. That wouldn't bode well for BBC porn

[Ttaskmaster]

Does anybody actually not have a VPN at this point?

I can't. The 'minimal' lag eats up too much of my minimal bandwidth.

Also AFAIK mobile usage over the cellular network is also filtered

It is. I have to go into a phone shop and announce loudly that I'm a pervert requiring access to all manner of utter filth, before my service provider will remove the 18+ age restriction.

However, in spite of this block, I can still access a variety of well-known filthy sites. It's generally just nice, clean, wholesome ad-supported sites that actually get blocked, due to the content in the adverts.

[rabidmunkee]

I just wonder how search engines like the goggle are effected, if you search for images you can find a lot of filth without even going to an "online commercial pornography service" site.

and the binge plays the videos in an iframe, so you don't even go to the filth portal.

[Corky34]

What would you like parents to do? If kids are able to use a vpn or other method of bypassing the porn block I expect they can get around parental controls.

Ball & chain, lock them in their room until the reach 21, emigrate to desert island, tell them they'll go blind and grow hair on their palms.

[Jonj1611]

Yes I think we will keep that idea in the maybe pile for now