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British Internet providers are to meet with the government to the implementation of a universal content filter aimed at pornography.
The move follows the apparent belief that government ministers are of a mind that ISPs should automatically block sex-related web sites with customers needing to opt-in to receive an un-filtered Internet.
Communication minister Ed Vaizey, speaking to the Sunday Times, framed the move as an effort to “come up with solutions to protect children.”
“I am hoping they will get their acts together so we don’t have to legislate, but we are keeping an eye on the situation and we will have a new communications bill in the next couple of years,” he said.
Conservative MP Claire Perry appears of the mind that parents are incapable of using one of a number of options including opt-in ISP and local filtering when Perry told the Sunday Times: “We just want to make sure our children aren’t stumbling across things we don’t want them to see.”
Several ISPs including Virgin and BT already offered filtered Internet feeds as an option for parents but it seems the government wishes to enforce filtering by default. ISPs will be unlikely to want to comply with such a move voluntarily.
