Too lazy to set a custom title
Industry Role:
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Posts: 29,677
|
U.K. tests child-porn blocker - Canada Also?
Before posting the whole article, here is an excerp:
Quote:
According to British Telecom, the system prevents its 2.7 million Internet subscribers from accessing thousands of pre-verified child-porn sites.
|
Now, if they are pre-verified child-porn sites, why the fuck don't they simply shut them down! !!???///!!!@@@@
Article:
Quote:
U.K. tests child-porn blocker
Cleanfeed keeps subscribers out of known Web sites
Canadian Internet providers wary of monitoring role
TYLER HAMILTON
TECHNOLOGY REPORTER
Canada's major Internet service providers are prepared to work with law enforcement agencies to help combat online child pornography, but they won't commit to the large-scale blocking of known child-porn sites.
The idea of preventing Internet subscribers from accessing specific Web sites has generally been resisted by North American service providers and civil liberties activists, who argue there's too much potential for blocking legitimate information in a society that cherishes free speech.
Earlier this month, U.K. communications giant British Telecom rattled its peers in Canada and the United States by announcing an anti-child-pornography project called Cleanfeed. According to British Telecom, the system prevents its 2.7 million Internet subscribers from accessing thousands of pre-verified child-porn sites.
Mohammed Nakhooda, a spokesman for Bell Canada, the country's largest phone and Internet service provider, would not directly comment when asked whether Bell supports the kind of system being put in place by British Telecom.
"It is a role and responsibility of law enforcement to monitor content on the Web," he said, reiterating that Bell will take action on child porn "when asked to do so by law enforcement."
Rogers Cable said it will "look with interest" at British Telecom's measures. Spokeswoman Taanta Gupta said Rogers will co-operate with law enforcement but is not prepared to proactively monitor network traffic for child pornography content.
The Canadian Association of Internet Providers did not return calls from the Star.
Cleanfeed is still under trial but British Telecom expects to officially launch the initiative within weeks. The company, which will block access to sites compiled by U.K.-based Internet Watch Foundation, says it will sell its technology to any ISPs that are interested.
Detective Inspector Angie Howe of the Ontario Provincial Police's Project P, a unit that investigates child porn, said the proactive measure being taken overseas by British Telecom should be followed in Canada.
"I think we need to look at a similar approach," said Howe, adding that Canadian ISPs need to be held more accountable for how they allow users to access illegal Web sites. "Whether it's feasible to do that in Canada is beyond my expertise."
Mark Ishikawa, CEO of Los Gatos, Calif.-based BayTSP, which specializes in tracking digital content over the Internet, said it's possible for any ISP to block child-porn Web sites based on a pre-compiled list.
But blocking access to Web sites, he added, isn't foolproof and doesn't address other online methods for distributing and acquiring child pornography, such as file-sharing networks, bulletin boards or direct exchanges of files through e-mail and chat.
British Telecom has even said project Cleanfeed, which specifically targets pay-for-view Web sites, is only a partial solution.
ISPs can target known Web sites and identify spammers and music pirates based on analysis of network traffic volumes, but tracking child porn is more intrusive because it requires analysis of actual content, such as pictures and videos.
The large-scale analysis of content being shared over file-swapping networks such as Kazaa and other online exchanges requires tremendous ISP resources and has major privacy implications, said Ishikawa.
"You just can't look at every file being transmitted over your network," he said. "To deploy that kind of computing power is just not feasible."
He added that in most North American jurisdictions, including Canada, only authorized law enforcement personnel can view child porn in the course of investigation, meaning ISP staff attempting to monitor child porn on their own would technically be breaking the law.
Howe said ISPs in Canada have reacted swiftly when asked to shut down specific sites and also seem willing to work more closely, particularly in recent days, with police agencies and government to come up with a workable plan to combat child porn, but there's room for improvements.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...l=968350116467
|
__________________
I know that Asspimple is stoopid ... As he says, it is a FACT !
But I can't figure out how he can breathe or type , at the same time ....
|