According to a new report today, internet access providers in the United Kingdom will now have to block access to porn unless customers opt to receive it. UK Prime Minister David Cameron is also urging search engine providers, such as Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo, to “step up to the plate” and stop providing child abuse pictures in search results.
“There needs to be a list of terms, a blacklist, which offer up no direct search returns. There are some searches which are so abhorrent and where they can be no doubt whatsoever about the sick and malevolent intent of the searcher. I have a very clear message for Google, Bing, Yahoo and the rest. You have a duty to act on this — and it is a moral duty,” Cameron stated in a speech in London, England.
Cameron is urging these search engines to “step up to the plate” and stop providing images of child abuse in search results. Cameron wants Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo to make these changes and report back to him in October with their progress.
Those in the UK who obtain new internet access will automatically have a family-friendly filter enabled, and existing customers will be contacted and asked if they want that filter to be enabled or disabled. If you choose to ignore this requirement (maybe you are shy), the filter will be enabled by default.
Microsoft has yet to respond to Cameron’s statement.
