Cameron’s Adult Content Filter Officially Failed

David Cameron had to admit that his campaign against online porn proved ineffective. Media reports reveal that Cameron is getting much mockery over his plan to save kids from the perils of porn. However, he is still intended to press ahead with it anyway.

Cameron’s plan was build on the idea that Internet service providers had agreed to introduce family-friendly filters which automatically blocked porn unless clients chose to opt out. It was no surprise that the ISPs didn’t do so, with some of them lobbying the government to tell it to sling its hook.

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In the meantime, Cameron’s plans were also criticized by major anti-censorship groups – they warned that portals containing sexual health and sexuality might get caught up in the ban, while other critics were warning that filtering could set a dangerous precedent.

The problem is that while Cameron was thinking about the kids, he failed to realize that the technology to ban online pornography was physically impossible. Everyone willing to access porn can use a proxy website from abroad and make the filter just a waste of time. The best example is blockage of The Pirate Bay – despite the fact that ISPs must legally oblige, elementary Google search brings up a proxy in seconds.

David Cameron had to admit that were some problems with the system, especially as he has already ruled out “soft” or written porn from the scheme. In response, industry observers point out that such actions make any online filter technologically unviable. Indeed, even in China people are still able to see porn.

Apparently, David Cameron had no idea which legitimate portals should be banned by the filters and preferred to blame the technology for having weaknesses. He seems to believe that the companies will design what is automatically blocked. In the meantime, Cameron’s ideas even hit at his own conservative core – a lot of conservatives will see censorship as a nanny state intervention. He was even attacked by one of his female MPs, Louise Mensch, for efforts to ban video of rape simulation – the latter suggested such fantasies were common in more than 50% of all women and it wasn’t up to the government to police that. Experts point out that similar moves in Australia were abandoned due to being too politically stupid. Well, they didn't work anyway.