LONDON — Since U.K. ISPs rolled out mandatory opt-in porn filters for all things Internet-capable, those opposed have collectively pointed out every gross oversight and mistake the nascent system has made.
But this one may take the cake — the filters inadvertently/ironically blocked the site of Claire Perry, the Conservative Member of Parliament well-known for her campaign to introduce the filters in the first place.
It turns out that her heavy use of key no-no words like “porn” and “sex” — in an attempt to preserve e-innocence throughout the U.K. — led ISPs to mistake her site for explicit content.
This is just the latest snafu harped on by the filter’s critics, who have noted that the system, hatched by Prime Minister David Cameron, has mistakenly blocked sites offering sex education and advice on sexual health, LGBT issues and porn addiction. It has even barred online access to the British Library and a Liberal Democrat organization.
Recently, a Google Chrome plug-in, playfully named “Go Away Cameron,” was developed to bypass the filters altogether. The extension works anywhere and with any websites that are blocked by firewall, universities, workplaces and nanny filters.
Creator of GAC, a Singapore-based computer science graduate who goes by the handle @nubela, said “I enjoy my Internet freedom, and urge all of you to never give that up, let alone to any government agencies.”
