Websites to get cinema-style ratings?

Websites to get cinema-style ratings?

uk.news.yahoo.com

Cinema-style age-ratings could be imposed on websites under Government plans to crack down on "unacceptable" material.
Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said "clearer standards" are needed as to what can be displayed online.

He said it was his "absolutely categorical" view that there is material on the web - including beheadings - which should not be available to anyone.

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[edit on 12/28/2008 by semperfortis]

Ok so we know the Aussie and Canadian governments are planning the crack-down on internet access but it seems now the UK is also jumping on the bandwagon.... Not surprising realy im sure you will agree but it seems here in the UK they where keeping tight lipped on their plans.... Until now!

The article states about being able to watch things like beheadings but you can guarantee that it will realy be aimed at political conspiracy and alternative news websites.

uk.news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 12/28/2008 by semperfortis]

Here we go again

"censorship" i wish i could say im surprised and they are using such a lame excuse because they're videos of beheadings on the internet the solution must be to ban most of the websites we go on

how come the saddam hussein hanging video got out then aswell and they let it get out he was killed pretty inhumanely but they still let it out now they are moaning because we apperently have watched stuff like it

I hope to do that this doesnt happen though although if it does im sure that there will be uproar and people will revolt (i hope they do anyway:puz but most people wont know that there is a revolt because there source of information will be banned

and yes ATS would almost certainly be banned aswell because it is a threat to the governments

Is there a way to access the internet without using an ISP? Can you attach a computer / server directly to the backbone? What about the net to net (I think it was called) to chain wireless computers together virtually to create nets separate from the internet supervision?

Yeah if only they could censor these sites on public feeds while allowing private citizens to opt-out.
I believe this was to be the deal in Australia but I think they will shift the goal posts once these firewalls are in place.

Not Good!!!

Yep it sucks doesnt it...... Well we have a form of internet censorship here in the uk already... Public access wifi in central London already blocks out some sites like www.infowars.com... and some others although this is selective, For example St Pancras Station and Euston Station block these kind of websites.

But there is some hope... Have you guys heard of The Popeye Project?

srvweb01.softeco.it...

Basicly when the Net (free speech net) goes down which it will, Popeye is a p2p file sharing project that links all computers together without internet access. Thus you would still be able to share video's, News articles, or any alternative media whilst circumnavigating the internet. Its direct access between computers all linked together.

But lets hope it doesn't come to that.

reply to post by dangleb3rry


well, i hope this will be censirship for kids not for adults. Anyway - i am sure we will find a solution to parallel the Internet.
I was thinking - it would be cool to actually create a p2p application that would also share the idle processor power + create an independent network. This would allow us to create the strongest supercomputer on the planet

[edit on 27-12-2008 by sty]

Virgin have been pushing for web censorship for a while now. I don't see it as being politically or morally driven. I think it's all about turning the anarchic Net into a controlled market place. They've been widely criticized for planning to use Phorm as a means of shaping advertising directed at each user. This is possible by monitoring every site you visit and aggregating them by subject and content. Visit a lot of car websites? Suddenly, every page you visit features car adverts.

I think the logistics of putting age ratings on webpages make it impossible to do accurately. Some version of web spider would have to search for keywords and skin color content. Many mistakes!

I think this quote from Virgin's CEO clarifies their standpoint on a neutral net better than I can

Virgin media CEO Neil Berkett has stated: "This net neutrality thing is a load of bollocks," adding that Virgin is in talks with content providers about paying to have their content delivered faster than others who are not Virgin partners.

There are sites that I'd rather not exist. That they do isn't worth bending over the metaphorical figure of freedom of speech and anally raping it. They use the worst of the worst a examples until people are begging to have information filtered for them. freedoms taken are rarely returned.

I do agree that the internet has to be cencered to children,i wouldn't let my children near the internet without having some sort of idea of whats going on but there are ways of doing it & i'm sure in the long run it will work.
Then again children will get access to all the net has to offer some way or another..

reply to post by rhynouk


BOO BOO to you. The internet should not be censored. Censorship does not work! Boo I say Boo sir!

So there seems to be various viewpoints on net censorship so it obviously makes sense to have an opt out system like 1 of the posters stated above. Im all for protection of children on the net same as anyone here but when it comes to what i want to see......

If i want to watch someone's head cut off thats up to me (i dont by the way).... Im 32 years old and a former soldier. Would they of censored me if i was shooting a so called "terrorist"?

If they dont want people to see it then they can try to have the offending video, article or whatever it is pulled from the website not cover our eyes and try to wrap us up in cotton wool while suckling the bosom of the government and MSM!

Make a version of the Internet separate from the real internet and have it controlled to make sure it only contains material suitable for children. But do not try to control the current internet.

Yet another attempt to to apply filters and censor content that most people out of here will welcome, just because it's to "protect our children". Truth is, Internet is not for children. The web is not a net-nanny. Parents should always actively supervise their kids while they surf the internet.

Obviously what politicians really want is not to make the Internet safe for children, but to prevent in the long run adults to see and download what they don't want, be it pirated software, sensible international news, potentially harmful scientific knowledge, morally questionable (but legal) content, gambling websites, or even legal pornography.

I fear that if UK implements such filters, immediatly after it will be the turn of France and Italy (I live in Italy and I remember Berlusconi said he would discuss with other EU members of methods to "regulate" the Internet), and then probably the rest of EU states.

By the way, Web on P2P would be painfully slow. If you have ever tried Freenet you know what I mean. P2P works well when downloading files, because you don't necessarily have to wait in front of your computer for them to finish. For websites you need fast pings and burst upload speeds that most home user connections can't guarantee.

reply to post by titorite


I don't mean cencered for us i mean something has to be done to stop children looking at dodgy stuff.
I hate the fact it's happening & don't want to be told what i can & can't see but it's going to happen weather we like it or not

We had no problems at all keeping out kids out of sites where they did not need to be.
We do not need the government telling us what we can look at, or what we allow our family's to look at.

If you or we allow this then it will not be but a few years till you will only be able to look at what the government thinks is best for you. No matter what your age.
And that will mean that the only info you get about any thing will be what you are told you can see.
I am getting really tired of someone telling me what is good for me or my life.