UK porn industry actually in favour of online filth filters, just not Cameron's

UK porn industry actually in favour of online filth filters, just not David Cameron's
xxxaware aims to education parents on filtering out smut

The UK's adult entertainment industry has lent its support to the government's ongoing drive to block unsuitable content from younger eyes, but says the blanket blocking system still needs work.

In terms of blocking filth from the eyes of youngsters, the ISP filters work just fine, but those in the smut industry say more needs to be done to prevent legitimate sites from falling under the block hammer.

"From an adult industry perspective, if it's just pornography you want to block access to then filtering is largely effective," said Chris Ratcliff, managing director of Television X owner Portland TV, told Recombu Digital.

"However there are better filters available than those offered by the ISPs which are also less prone to overblocking. US company Metacert for example has catalogued over 700 million porn sites and has launched plug-ins for Firefox and Chrome as well as an iPad browser and an Android app."

The government needs a hand

Ratcliff said the industry itself has had no dialogue with the government, so is instead looking to engage with parents directly on what it sees as a better way to stem the tide of unsolicited adult content.

To commemorate Safe Internet Day 2014, the industry launched the second version of its xxxaware.co.uk site, which provides advice on instituting parental controls on PC, Mac, TV, smartphones, tablets and games consoles.

Have the government gone over the top with its Cameron-sponsored censorship? Should be adult industry really be the ones guiding us on keeping ours children innocent? Let us know your thoughts...

Chris Smith

A technology journalist, writer and videographer of many magazines and websites including T3, Gadget Magazine and TechRadar.com. He specializes in applications for smartphones, tablets and handheld devices, with bylines also at The Guardian, WIRED, Trusted Reviews and Wareable. Chris is also the podcast host for The Liverpool Way. As well as tech and football, Chris is a pop-punk fan and enjoys the art of wrasslin'.