Spam Will Get More Graphical?
Should The Connection Be Separate From The Device

Porn Filters For Adults

Culture

from the the-(not-so)-dirty-secret-of-porn-filters dept

Fri, Apr 16th 2004 1:19am — Mike Masnick
The official target market for internet porn filters tends to be parents who want to make sure their children don't run across porn sites on the web (purposely or by accident). However, according to this Salon article, an increasing number of sales are going to adults who want to keep their spouses from accessing porn. There certainly have been plenty of stories about online porn or "online infidelity" leading to the breakup of marriages, but I do wonder whether or not placing a filter on the computer is just a way of whitewashing over a deeper issue. Obviously, if porn is getting in the way of a relationship, then there are bigger issues than just access to porn.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

3 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    NOBODY, 16 Apr 2004 @ 1:29pm

    No Subject Given

    I would be interested to see how many of those sales go the the ultra religious.

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 16 Apr 2004 @ 2:35pm

    Re: No Subject Given

    Because only religious people think porn is wrong? I Think you need to hit some of the left-wing feminists sites and get their view on porn. (It's about the only view those two groups hold in common).

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    ned, 31 Jan 2008 @ 5:53pm

    filtering to preserve marriages

    Your question as to whether porn filters are just a whitewash over the larger issue of porn use, internet infidelity or internet porn addiciton is a good question. I own one of the filters in the Salon article www.wisechoice.net and I use the filter to place a guard around me. AA tells alcoholics to find new playmates and new playgrounds-in other words don't hang out with other drinkers and don't hang out at bars. Just doing those two things is a huge step in the right direction of controlling alcohol use in an alcoholic. Internet filters set up for adults (no over ride password available) effectively changes the playground from being a wonderland of free pornography to one that requires hard work to find porn that is accessible through the filter. Good filters are about 96% efective which means that you can get some porn if you try. But by the same token if you are trying to stay away from porn then it is very effective. Combine the filter with accountability reporting that gives someone else like your wife or good friend the ability to see the un-erasable history of where you have been going, then this begins to be very good and powerful. So, if you perceive porn to be a problem yet have trouble staying away from it then filtering is very useful and legtimate. It's also very cheap. Our filter costs $5 per month for as many as three computers. Good question Thanks- Ned Dominick, www.wisechoice.net

    [ link to this | view in thread ]


Spam Will Get More Graphical?
Should The Connection Be Separate From The Device
Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

Friday

19:39 Important Announcement: Techdirt Is Migrating To A New Platform (0)
More arrow

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.