Utah Considers Forcing Content Providers And ISPs To Block Porn
from the good-luck-with-that-plan dept
For a few years, Pennsylvania had in place a law that would require ISPs to block sites Pennsylvania politicians didn't like from being accessed. This was problematic for many, many reasons. First, the list itself was secret -- so there was no way to see, for instance, if Pennsylvania was blocking sites that were really problematic, or just sites they didn't like. Also, since national ISPs had to comply with this law, it ended up impacting many people outside the state, even though they weren't covered by this law. Finally, because so many websites are on shared servers, plenty of legitimate sites that happened to be hosted on the same machines were getting blocked. Eventually, a federal court tossed out the law, mainly because it blocked perfectly legitimate sites. Well, now the whole battle can move to Utah, as the state Senate has sent a similar bill to the governor there, who has not indicated whether or not he'll sign it. Not only does this bill require ISPs to block the content, but it also requires any "for profit" content providers to rate their content in some manner. Again, this whole thing seems backwards. If the sites themselves are violating a law, then why should the ISPs be forced to block them? Why is this law punishing the ISPs?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
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Utah Censorship
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Think about it for a second
KIDDIE PORN, the absolute filth of the earth.
If you own a webserver that has Kiddie porn images on it, you should go to jail.
If you say "there is too much stuff out there to monitor everything", then I say get the hell out of the business.
Browse your customer's websites, and take action!!!
KIDDIE PORN IS PURE AND HIDEOUS EVIL!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Think about it for a second
This isn't about getting the companies that HOST the kiddie porn. It's about having all ISPs block ALL porn -- even if it has nothing to do with them. So, your argument doesn't actually apply to this case.
Besides, what you're suggesting is that no one be allowed to put anything online without it first getting approved. That sort of kills the point of the internet, doesn't it?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Think about it for a second
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Think about it for a second
I don't believe however that generic ISPs should be resposible for keeping a list of sites and blocking them. You should specifically go after the people that break the law or directly allow people to break the law.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Think about it for a second
as an adult i view that which is 18 plus..
yet the government does not stop fuckers from
sending that shit under 18.the money hungry fuckers of arizona
see highway monitoring as a priority with expensive cameras posted
on the roads. a cash fucking cow. YET THE HUGE PROBLEM
is the internet.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Think about it for a second
So a line of responsibility needs to be drawn. I don't believe that your customer getting cracked and a baddie dumping kiddie-porn on their website that you host is any reason to go around waiving one's status as common carrier. In fact, I think the line at which one takes responsibility is the point at which you cease to be any kind of commmon carrier and are the producer or active propagator.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Think about it for a second
Shit, do you realize how...
Oops, sorry Mike! Didn't mean to cost you Utah.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Think about it for a second
The problem, as always, (besides the morons in Utah going after the wrong people in this case) is the question: Who gets to decide?
I think Mormons are harmful to children, and any LDS related sights should be blocked… but I bet the politicians from Utah would disagree…
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Think about it for a second
the problem is that while we are free to choose our views,
there is a problem with the internet that throws that garbage
at people. those sick fucks are attempting to desensitize
and reduce shock.
where is the government now? nevermind those fucking
freeway cameras, rather help to stop these invasive kiddie porn
pushing fucks.
a society devoted to chasing the bigger better faster ism leads way
to distraction. in distraction enters the pushers.
so who does run usa now days?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Adult Porn or Kiddie Porn, Its all fucked up...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
crazy
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Prono On Web Site Laws
[ link to this | view in chronology ]