[fpp]

So censorship will finally be officially enacted in the UK.

Today it's porn or gambling - tomorrow it is the "wrong" political opinion, the wrong colour of skin, the wrong religion or facts the government (or some of its members) want to bury.

Looks like they soon will party like it's 1984...

[jiggy2011]

This sounds a little hyperbolic , if the UK govt decided to block competing political parties websites I'm sure they would fall foul of some law or court decision somewhere. Not to mention that it would be far harder to justify than porn.

Also you can opt-out of the filtering.

[cabalamat]

> if the UK govt decided to block competing political parties websites I'm sure they would fall foul of some law or court decision somewhere

Maybe. But the German government was recently found to be blocking the website of an opposition political party -- http://falkvinge.net/2012/05/10/three-days-before-elections-...

Germany is a country rather like Britain. If they can do it, it can happen in the UK too.

> Also you can opt-out of the filtering.

For now.

[jiggy2011]

I find it very difficult to believe that they would say that nobody in the UK is allowed to look at porn or gambling online. Even in they could get that past the european court of human rights, what would be in it for them to do so?

[cabalamat]

> what would be in it for them to do so?

There are a lot of prudes in the UK, partilularly amoung older people (who are more likely to vote) and Tory supporters (and Cameron needs to give something to his critics in his own party right now, as his position is weak).

[jiggy2011]

I still think that is far fetched, if Cameron & co actually did that, I think Labour could make their next campaign slogal "We will bring back the porn" and win by a landslide.

[DanBC]

You realise it's optional, right? And that the subscriber can ask to have it turned off?

[SagelyGuru]

First they came for the pedofiles and I said nothing because I was not one. Then they came for the pornographers and I said nothing because I was not one. Then they came for the gamblers and I said nothing because I was not one. Then they came for the muslims and I said nothing because I was not one. Then they came for the pirates and I said nothing because I was not one. Then they came for Assange and I said nothing because I am not him. Then they came for me and there was no one left to hear me scream.

[fpp]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came

And in the first step - a classic dilemma - how do you know what you can't see when you are blindfolded.

Remember the police man in Denmark earlier this year that "by mistake" blocked the half internet to his country when fiddling with such "blacklists".

Expect lots of "collateral damages" once this will have become mandatory (the next step)

[DanBC]

> And in the first step - a classic dilemma - how do you know what you can't see when you are blindfolded.

Because there are so many sites blocked, and it comes with a fucking huge page saying something like "CONTENT LOCK CONTACT YOUR PROVIDER TO HAVE THIS TURNED OFF".

> Remember the police man in Denmark earlier this year that "by mistake" blocked the half internet to his country when fiddling with such "blacklists".

These are voluntary optional blacklists.