(06-09-2013 08:14 )mido Wrote: (29-08-2013 23:01 )eccles Wrote: Is this really the most important thing in David Camerons calendar? Shouldn't he be focussing on Syria?
I find this comment very hypocritical from someone who launched a (low scale) petition wanting big DC to set aside some priority time for discussing allowing more freedom for watching babeshows when really his calendar should have been filled with sorting out a number of issues we had and still have within the UK economy.
Is it ok for him to devote this time when it gets you something that you want, but not when it takes something away?
Erm, I don't recall asking the Government to drop everything immediately and ignore a crisis where lives are being lost daily, and the Government consists of more than just the PM - the Media Culture & Secretary would probably not be devoting their time to international affairs.
The Government is now demanding "voluntary" adult filters on all internet access, and it has now emerged that this will also apply to VPNs (Virtual Private Networks used for secure communication between company sites, or for people working at home or remote sites). This could mean that confidential communications between senior designers or executives at, say BAE, could be at risk of interception by the foreign companies running the adult filters, potentially resulting in contract bids being beaten or World beating designs being copied. Like Concorde. At best that means loss of British jobs.
It also creates a risk of communications by social workers working from home being intercepted or blocked and paedophile rings being tipped off. What should be 1-2-1 communications become open to others, and there are regular reports of people in positions of trust selling details to newspapers, detective agencies and big business, so it would be quite possible for a few people running these systems to leak or sell details.
Because the internet adult filters will be "voluntary" it will not be possible to challenge them in court.
Adult filters will be operated by experts in the field, effectively unaccountable private companies or charities, staffed by people willing to spend all day categorising porn and other material in order to keep children safe. Their lists will not be open for public inspection, their rules will be secret (to prevent pornographers bypassing them).
The filters will apply to ANY material that might not be suitable for children, of any age, in the opinion of someone, somewhere. Gambling websites will be banned, including the National Lottery, and possibly newspaper pages with Bridge advice. Extremist websites will be banned, which might include sites labelled extremist by MPs. EDL? Fathers For Justice? The Muslim Brotherhood? Militant Tendency?
Gambling, extremism, religion, lads mags, cults, smoking, gore, violence, drink, political reform, libellous content, corruption allegations, challenging family court secrecy, revealing war crimes in Iraq, all these and more could be blocked by default.
But don't worry, long term loss of privacy and freedom does not warrant any Parliamentary discussion by junior ministers. Apparently.