Internet service provider TalkTalk has followed in the footsteps of Sky to filter adult content by default. Many ISPs have already implemented the filters, with disastrous results, which leaves BT and Virgin Media as the only major service providers to not have the filter option on by default.
TalkTalk's newest customers will have the block turned on by default while current users will have the filter forced on them if they haven't already opted out of the option. Customers who do not want their access to adult websites blocked can contact TalkTalk to allow them to view this content.
Blocking of websites related to extreme pornography, rape, child exploitation and other illegal activities is nothing out of the ordinary for internet service providers. A couple of years ago, TalkTalk had to block access to The Pirate Bay following a controversial decision made by a court in the UK.
This latest change in the default filter option by TalkTalk has been introduced following UK Prime Minister David Cameron's insistence that pornographic websites should be blocked by default by all ISPs as it 'corrodes your childhood'.
However, this filter is bound to be unpopular among customers; a previous survey revealed that among three of the UK's top four ISPs, over 92% of users opted out of the porn filters. Just 5% of users on BT chose to keep the filters in place, as did 8% of Sky customers. Surprisingly, a staggering 36% of TalkTalk customers opted to leave the porn filters on while Virgin Media reported the lowest figure of just 4%, but some of this is due to the company's own failures.
Source: The Independent |Image via Shuttershock
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