Sky’s network-level porn filters now “default on” for new UK customers

Smut-loving Sky Broadband subscribers told to opt in to access porn.

Tom Mendelsohn

Carry On Camping

Sky Broadband's long-threatened move to automatically switch on its porn filter for new customers is finally happening.
What's more, the company has said it will also be contacting every existing broadband customer "over the coming months" to ask them to make a decision on whether or not to adopt the filter, dubbed Shield. If a user doesn't respond, the filter will automatically kick in—meaning that all Sky customers will ultimately have to make an active decision to ask to be allowed to access porn, or any other content Sky considers to be unsuitable for youngsters.
The company claims that the auto-on filter "ensures a safer Internet experience for millions of homes."
In a trial last year, Sky found that switching the filter on for some customers "delivered much higher engagement" with its Shield software, according to the firm's brand director Lyssa McGowan. Around two-thirds of households still make use of it, she said.
"This is much higher than anyone else in the industry using other approaches," McGowan added.

"Customers are typically just asked whether they want to switch on filtering when they activate their broadband. It means take up rates are between only 5 and 10 percent because customers ignore the choice put in front of them or automatically click no without considering the implications."

Network-level filters arrived in late 2013 for Sky Broadband customers, after TalkTalk was the first big name UK ISP to debut similar Web-censoring tech. They can be easily bypassed via VPN or proxy, however.

Sky claims it's coming closest to fulfilling the government's desires for a "safer Internet," and it comes just days after the Digital Economy Bill—which among other things, seeks to legislate on age checks for access to porn sites—was brought before UK parliament.

This post originated on Ars Technica UK