UK ISPs downplay egaming filtering fears

UK internet service providers (ISP) have quashed recent reports suggesting online gambling sites are being automatically blocked following updates made to a number of ISP’s adult content filters.

Following news last weekend that TalkTalk was to follow Sky and roll out an automatic filtering process for adult content online, it had been suggested that gambling-related websites were now being blocked automatically with customers wanting to access gambling sites having to manually request the block to be lifted.

While confirming gambling-related sites now formed part of its adult content filters, a TalkTalk spokesperson told eGaming Review gambling sites would only be blocked if specifically requested.

Customers are being given the option to opt-out of the filter system when first signing up to the provider or, for long-standing customers, a pop-up alert will be presented when first attempting to access an adult-content site.

The spokesperson added that 95% of its customer base had already made a decision on whether to opt-out or not, with the remaining 5% due to be prompted by the new pop-up message.

Sky said its own filtering system, HomeShield, also provides customers with an option regarding content filtering before any block is applied, however, the filter would automatically come into effect for customers that hadn’t made a decision within a month.

BT and Virgin Media, the other two of the UK’s ‘big four’ internet providers, have yet to confirm whether they intend to add automatic content filtering to their services.

Automatic adult content filtering was first suggested in 2011 and has since received the support of UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who has championed it as a means of protecting children from adult content online.