Opt-in Porn Blocker Blunders

David Cameron's plan to blanket block adult material via an opt-in filtering system was always likely to fail. The Internet is too vast to block for all material featuring words such as 'rape' and 'porn', for example. 

It is no surprise then that the system has been a little too over-zealous. My book Torture Porn is no doubt one of the contributing titles that led to the British Library website being blocked by the filter. Other causalities included the NSPCC website and various gay rights websites. The biggest face-palm of all is that the Government's own 10 Downing Street webpage was blocked, as was Clare Perry's website: that is the same Clare Perry (see picture) who spearheaded the blocking campaign. What a farce.  

Even if the system did work, a new lexis would quickly develop to bypass the filter's algorithm, and would keep evolving. As it transpires, such steps are not necessary because the technology has been immediately gazumped. It only took 24 hours for a Chrome patch to be released that allows users to bypass the filter entirely. Note that it has not yet been necessary for anyone involved in making porn to lift a finger...