UK "default on" ISP censoring will include "web forums" by default

We've replied about this on ORG's blog.

Thanks Jim, you've said a lot that I strongly agree with.

I'd go further though, using the NSPCC's own figures (which are as good as any we've got) http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/sexualabuse/statistics_wda87833.html ...

1 in 20 children have been (are being) sexually abused, and 90% of those abused know their abuser.

Simply, the original source of this "protect the children" thinking stemmed from the argument that we needed to protect children from paedophiles, without at any point noting that the source of the vast majority of sexual abuse comes from within the family, the close friends, and are consequentially abuses of positions of trust.

If the government truly wanted to protect the children, then the government should focus it's efforts on the 90% of sexually abused children who are abused by relatives and those close to the family.

The issue seems far less about "protecting the children" from accessing porn. In fact the argument seems to have morphed... if one asked "what are we protecting the children from?", the answer was (hysterically) "paedophiles!". Achieved by limiting their access to child porn online. Once it was obvious this would be circumvented, the answer suddenly became "online porn and an over-sexualised society"... and now seems to want to by-default limit societies access to all data to be only the family-friendly data.

Of course the sick bit is that sexual abuse, given the stats... seems to be the family friendly bit. The broad censorship does nothing to actually help those who really are being abused and being subject to sexual violence.

And yes, the collateral damage in all of this, are things painted over by the broad brush... web forums.

I wonder how effective that particular filter will be when the very parents who would want it enabled will also want to access mumsnet.