Prevent 1984 becoming a reality

[JingleJoe]

The government is going all 1984 on the internet again, they're trying to put forwards a bill which will automatically block many websites, they say it's all about blocking porn but in the fine print they have massive umbrella terms which could be used to block anything like "esoteric" and "forums". Forums!?! that's basically everything I look at on the internet. That could be YOU electro-music.com!

Here's a petition against it with 34000 signatures already, but that's not enough.
https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/51746

Here's some more info:
https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/2013/sleepwalking-into-censorship

Yes you can opt-out, but then the government knows who you are and will lump you into the "serial killers, pedos and nutcases" category.

[MusicMan11712]

I have been turned onto a couple of plug-ins/extensions for Firefox that put the power in the users' hands: NoScripts and AdBlockPlus. I am guessing there are other programs out there that things like these. I would think if these kinds of programs were available for all browsers, users could choose what they want to let in. If they had a setting that let parents set whether or not to give control to their kids, I think that would be better than the kind of thing proposed here.

"Do you want to install/turn on/enable parental controls?" is way too broad. Enumerating a list of finite categories that lump things together as a second step seems to help narrow it down, but doesn't really put sufficient control into citizens' hands. We should be able to choose to block everything we don't want and allow through everything we do want.

A system should be developed that is politically neutral--let the citizens decide what is personally offensive in their own homes.

As for the workplace, that is up to the employer.

Just my opinion; thanks for calling this issue to our attention.

Steve

[Freak's Utopia]

Jinglejoe you entered 1984 era since you signed up for that "fantastic" social network called facebook