In an effort to keep minors from accessing inappropriate content online, Prime Minister David Cameron has pushed the United Kingdom’s four largest Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to create adult-content filters. As a side effect, many online gambling websites are now being blocked by these very same filters.
In July 2013, Cameron publicly asked the ISPs (Sky, TalkTalk, British Telecom and Virgin Media) to have adult filters ready by the end of 2014.
“I want to talk about the Internet. The impact it is having on the innocence of our children. How online pornography is corroding childhood,” said Cameron. “And how, in the darkest corners of the Internet, there are things going on that are a direct danger to our children, and that must be stamped out.”
The primary target of Cameron’s initiative is pornography. These adult filters, however, block more than just pornography; they often block out anything deemed “violent content,” “racially charged content,” and gambling sites.
The Open Rights Group, a U.K.-based organization that promotes freedom concerning digital rights, has cited research claiming these filters have also blocked out charities and websites concerning Essex and Sussex — all for purportedly having the word “sex” in their names.
Of the four ISPs, the only ones whose filters reportedly block out online gambling sites are TalkTalk and British Telecom. Customers looking to disable TalkTalk’s adult filter must contact the provider directly or log into their TalkTalk accounts and disable the HomeSafe filter directly. According to the BBC, 95 percent of TalkTalk’s 4.2 million customers have already have decided whether to activate the HomeSafe filter.
The filter to be provided by British Telecom will be turned off by default. Those wishing to block adult content (which would include online gambling) would have to toggle it on from within the settings.
Sky and Virgin Media’s filters reportedly do not block online gambling sites. Sky’s filter has already rolled out whereas Virgin Media’s has not yet been released.
