Tory MP Claire Perry, who led the campaign to protect children from illegal internet pornography, is full of praise for the Prime Minister David Cameron’s new moves to ensure that major service providers take blocking action.
TalkTalk and Sky are now informing new customers they have an unavoidable choice on whether the filters, which block all pornographic sites, should be switched on or off, and Virgin and BT are also due to follow suit in January.
“The progress that has been made in this area is extraordinary,” said the Devizes MP, who was at Monday’s No 10 meeting when the announcement was made. “When we first started campaigning we were told by many industry players that the changes we wanted were simply ‘not possible’.
“But with enough cross-party political will, the leadership from the Prime Minister and an active and dogged campaign, we have proved that significant changes can be made.”
And mother of three Mrs Perry adds on her website: “Some ask why the government does not just pass laws to effect the changes and, while the idea has some attractions, the sheer pace of technological change means politicians would always be playing catch-up.
“I would far rather see what we have now, which is companies who make their living in the digital world developing a strong sense of responsibility in all that they do and proactively bringing their technological might to solve emerging problems.”
Google, she explained, is now blocking returns of child abuse images, films and pathways against 100,000 search terms in a total of 159 countries, which has achieved far more than new legislation covering just the UK.
“A sensible platform of regulation, a lot of corporate responsibility and a big focus on educating and supporting parents in internet safety is the recipe for success in this area,” she declared.
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