TMCnet Feature Free eNews Subscription
September 12, 2012

Iceland ISPs Planning Blocks for Porn and Gambling

By Steve Anderson, Contributing TMCnet Writer

Even when Broadway musicals like the puppet-based Avenue Q are convinced that the Internet is for porn, the idea that it may prove blocked at the ISP level is a strange one indeed. But recent word from the ISPs of Iceland says that they may be blocking both porn and gambling sites from user access, and they're doing it for safety reasons.



Word from Vodafone (News - Alert) and Siminn, two of Iceland's biggest ISP services, are targeting "questionable content" and placing bans on their access at the ISP level. Interestingly, the bans won't be permanent, but are rather visceral, and can be removed at any time...for those willing to contact their ISP and tell them just which site it is from which they'd like the ban lifted.


Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Vodafone spokesman Hrannar Petursson told RUV, the national broadcasting service of Iceland, that such a block wouldn't be censorship, but rather a measure designed to protect consumers from the heaps of malware, viruses and similar problems that run rampant on such sites. This isn't the first time the concept of ISPs interceding on "questionable content" has happened, either; just in April, the UK's High Court of Justice required the state's ISPs to block access to The Pirate Bay, a commonly-used site for the dissemination of "magnet links" to files which contain several types of media, making it a regular source of copyright infringement.

Given a recent report that suggests the UK's ban had minimal impact on peer-to-peer transmission activity, however, it leaves the idea that the Icelandic ban may not even work in the first place. It would likely require constant supervision as sites bearing the "questionable content" change their addresses and, as a result, circumvent the bans. That's a drain on ISP resources, and one may not want to put into play for too long.

Protection for users is a smart idea, make no mistake about that...but why not simply put those resources that would be required for blocking access to porn and gambling into better antivirals and malware detection systems? Why block content--then turn around and open up content for the asking---if the goal really is to protect the user? Why not improve the individual user's protection methods?

These are good questions without clear answers, and the entire concept is one that has a lot of angles from which to view it. The potential answers, meanwhile, are uncomfortable to say the least. Still though, in Iceland, it may be a lot harder to find porn and gambling online in the near future...but for just how long it will be hard to do so remains to be seen.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO (News - Alert). Follow us on Twitter.




Edited by Brooke Neuman
» More TMCnet Feature Articles
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]
SHARE THIS ARTICLE

LATEST TMCNET ARTICLES

» More TMCnet Feature Articles