UK Prime Minister Apparently Last To Realize New EU Net Neutrality Rules Mean No Porn Filtering
from the Cameron-noted-he-'doesn't-really-keep-up-with-the-news...' dept
The EU's new net neutrality "protections" are largely deserving of the scare quotes, what with their myriad loopholes and built-in provisions that allow ISPs to throttle/manipulate traffic to prevent "congestion" -- something that has yet to be the actual source of any ISP's "traffic $haping" efforts.
But what the rules did do is throw off David Cameron's ongoing plans for a porn-free UK. And, of course -- considering Cameron has no idea how ISP-level filters work, much less aware of numerous logical fallacies "supporting" his claims this will actually prevent porn consumption by minors -- the Prime Minister was the last to know.
During Prime Minister's Questions, Cameron said he realised the knock-on effect from the EU bill over breakfast.The new neutrality rules forbid traffic discrimination (except when they don't; see above). Porn filtering at the ISP level is exactly that: blocking certain traffic simply because of its originating source. So much for Cameron's "voluntary*" porn-filtering scheme.
"When I read my Daily Mail this morning, I sputtered over my cornflakes because we worked so hard to put in place these filters," he told fellow MPs.
*under the threat of legislation
And now the man who reckons porn filtering will work because he says it will work has secured a temporary exception from the EU's new rules. How long it will last is unknown. In the meantime, Cameron will be working hard to legislate a UK-only neutrality loophole that will hopefully survive inspection by the EU. This unexpected dismantling of his slapped-together, officially unofficial porn ban has resulted in Cameron stepping up his push to upgrade "voluntary" filtering to "mandatory."
Cameron continued: "I can tell the House that we will legislate to put our agreement with internet companies into the law of the land so that our children will be protected."LOL at agreement. "Do this or else" isn't an "agreement." Now, despite being previously voluntold by Cameron to make with the porn filtering, ISPs will now be legislated at by the shocked and worried Prime Minister. Presumably this effort will ultimately be successful, as voting against this would suggest the reluctant legislator(s) believe underage children should have access to porn, rather than said legislator(s) feeling the government shouldn't be in the business of deciding what forms of legal entertainment ISP subscribers can access.
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Filed Under: david cameron, free speech, net neutrality, porn filters, uk
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Shame he hasn't put forth much as much effort into that as his internet filtering...
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pigs fly the concord
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In that way he can still get his filter and keep net neutrality.
But ISPs should be kept out of the censorship battles. They are too easy to abuse for circumvention of human rights.
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"Net neutrality, now with 20% more sprinkles!"
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If it stops the children of just one lazy/ignorant parent accidentally viewing porn then it will be useful. This is what society should be about: protecting its most vulnerable citizens when they're unable to protect themselves.
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Like DRM, such filters fail when one person in a group can bypass their control.
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God forbid a kid see a breast or a penis.
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At least I kept that stuff mostly off my home network with all the kids. Being a computer expert, it was a viable bluff when I told the kids that I had a packet sniffer running on the network at all times, which told me the sites they were visiting. I think they believed that into their 20s, when they correctly guessed I was too lazy and called me on it.
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Politics
And not me, since they seem to be so ineffective that I have circumvented them by accident...?
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He wants to protect us from the horror when that picture gets public.
/sarc
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I think the ISPs are also ignoring Daves daft plans.
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Dave reads the Daily Fail, which says all we need to know about him. They started this ridiculous charade.
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FTFY
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@ David Cameron: There's your problem, Oinky, deal with that. And by "That" I mean "Stop reading a paper that regularly makes things up."
Well now we know where he gets his policy ideas from. *Eyeroll*
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ha ha ha
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Lol
Hey Dad this picture of a man chopping off another mans head is so OK, after all its not porn.
Can we watch Rambo 1 to 5 again tonight?
No son we watched them last week! Put on Pirhanna 3DD, but make sure you cover your eyes when the boobie scenes come on!!!
Awww! Dad!!!!
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If you don't want your kid to see pornography, how about being a decent parent. The government isn't- and shouldn't be- a fucking babysitter.
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Last thing we need is some pompous prick running around plugging random holes.
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Depends on who you mean by "we". Concerned parents can install their own controls. But should the law require ISPs to do this? No.
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It's just sadistic.
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