BT launched the technology in 2004, with the intention of
blocking access for BT internet customers to any website named on a
blacklist compiled by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF). This
blacklist relates to worldwide child sexual abuse websites that
have been assessed as "illegal to view" in the UK. It is collated
from reports the UK-based watchdog receives via its internet
hotline.
The system used by BT, known as Cleanfeed, works by blocking
requests from subscribers to access the blacklisted sites,
returning an error page instead. The telco logs the access
requests, and today revealed that these have jumped dramatically in
the past year and a half.
As BT covers around one third of the UK's internet access
market, this figure suggests that there could be around 100,000
attempts per day to access child porn on the internet, according to
reports.
Peter Robbins, CEO of the IWF, said: "The increase in BT’s
figures is consistent with the Internet Watch Foundation’s figures
which show the number of ‘actioned’ reports – that is, reports
received from the public via our internet ‘hotline’ where
potentially illegal child abuse content was confirmed – rose from
3,438 in 2004 to over 6,000 in 2005.”
The announcement sparked calls for more to be done to prevent
individuals from accessing such sites. But blocking is
controversial: some privacy activists see it as the first step
towards widespread internet censorship.
BT timed its announcement to coincide with Safer Internet Day,
an annual event that this year is featuring a global blogathon to
raise awareness of internet safety issues.
