UK government seeks to expand its internet black list

The UK Internet Watch Foundation already blocks websites that contains child sexual abuse content, also known as child porn, but now it wants to expand its powers to include anything that has violent and unlawful content as well.

The proposals were outlined in the UK HomeOffice’s latest anti-terrorism Prevent Strategy report, which was released earlier this week.

Internet filtering across the public estate is essential. We want to ensure that users in schools, libraries, colleges and Immigration Removal Centres are unable to access unlawful material. We will continue to work closely with DfE, BIS, the CTIRU, Regional Broadband Consortia and the filtering industry.

We want to explore the potential for violent and unlawful URL lists to be voluntarily incorporated into independent national blocking lists, including the list operated by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF).

I am going to step out on a limb and make the claim that this is why you should not block any website. Yes, anything to do with child abuse is disgusting. The problem is that these types of programs are set up by governments who either believe they can later expand such programs for their own means or honestly believe they are doing the right thing. The right thing may be to prevent child abuse and/or child pornography, but there is always that thought that more can be done. If catching predators and terrorists works, then why not stopping violence? This is not the right way to be thinking.

Once you, presumably, get rid of child porn, child abuse, pedophiles, and terrorists on the internet, then who do you go after? If you make the step to violent websites, who decides what’s violent? I love zombie movies. My friend thinks they’re too violent. Already, we have a problem. Two people can’t agree on what’s violent.  What if a website of a movie is allowed to exist, but fans make a fan site. How do you then determine if the fan site is violent, but the original site is not? What will happen when movies become illegal in The United Kingdom?

There is also a problem with what is unlawful? There are all sorts of how-to guides online as well as information and technical specs to numerous items. How are they to be classified? Exactly what kind of information will be unlawful and how is this to change once you, presumably, block it?

Once all this information is blocked, how does the UK intend on dealing with the situation of VPNs, FTPs, changes to DNS, proxies, and the old reliable sneakernets? You cannot have such a narrow vision of the internet and expect it not to find ways around your blocks.

Censorship is not for the good of the citizenry. It’s good for business and it’s good for governments. First, everyone agrees to it because blocking child pornography is the right thing to do. Then, it moves to blocking piracy. Next it moves on to hate speech and religious speech, then whatever is considered distasteful at the time, and, finally, any speech the government doesn’t like.

Each step needs to be packaged and sold to the public. Anyone opposing any step can easily be dismissed as not being patriotic, doesn’t want to help the country, or a troublemaker. Once the lists start, they are always added to and never taken away, nor are they removed completely. Their goals are never accomplished, as you can see with this list, which wants to expand its original mandate. The Australian censorship list has many legitimate sites listed, proof that this is very possible.

The only censorship tool you ever need is called your mouse. If you don’t like something, click somewhere else.