UK censorwall bans VPNs

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Wait, do I understand this correctly? They ban VPNs, not because the government has to spy on people (which Iā€™d disagree with, but at least itā€™s a line of reasoning I can understand), but only to protect people from seeing sexual content? Is someone capable of using VPN also capable of deciding that for themselves?

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Yes, because teenagers all around the world are signing up for VPNs in order to view porn. Good gravy.

Granted, Iā€™m in a bad mood today, but how long until dissenting opinions are censored, for the good of the children? Indoctrinate them early and frequently. Burn books, burn the internet.

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We are all children, incapable of independent thought in the UK. If we donā€™t have our government dictating what we think, see, hear or feel then we will, without exception, turn into raving monsters.

Only those blessed with enlightenment by our leaders are capable of acting like human beings after being exposed to things such as porn, violence, junk food and alcohol. Which is why it seems there are so many fucking hypocrites in charge of dictating what the rest of us can and canā€™t do.

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was gonna make a comment, and was just reminded of this scene from 1984:

His eyes re- focused on the page. He discovered that while he sat helplessly musing he had also been writing, as though by automatic action. And it was no longer the same cramped, awkward handwriting as before. His pen had slid voluptuously over the smooth paper, printing in large neat capitals

DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER
DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER
DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER
DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER
DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER

over and over again, filling half a page.

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Having been told that the filter blocks ā€œadultā€ content (though it fails miserably at this, by any definition of ā€œadultā€), how many parents will be willing to say, ā€œNo, I donā€™t want this filter on my kidsā€™ phones?ā€

This sentence made something click in my head. Bear with me to see if this makes logical sense.

Assume that the filters actually worked and stopped teens from accessing porn. Assume that picture texts will still work. Assume teens want to see naked pictures. They canā€™t get them through the internet, but they can get them through picture texts. This censorwall encourages teens to sext each other! Think of the children! Give them pornography so they arenā€™t forced to make their own!

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For the sake of the children we must have access to everything about you. If you complain you must be a pervert.

They will institute a badge system so that techs will know by looking from the street who doesnā€™t have the porn filter. Perhaps a giant red ā€œPā€ in your window. Then subtle shaming will begin. First late night comedians and blog commenters. Soon the big red P will be seen as a sign you are not reliable, untrustworthy. Most everyone will give access, for the children.

First, they came for the porn, and I did not dare complain.

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see when the incidents of sexting goes up they will demand software to view all SMS messages and scan the images for images the machines consider ā€œsexualā€ and block them.
the answer is always MORE government intrusion duh ā€œsomething has to be done; we have done something; something has been doneā€

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Have you considered the ultimate opt-out? Cancel internet service and cell phone contract and start growing vegetables. If enough people did it, thatā€™d scare the government economists.

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ā€¦ thats insane. I use a VPN at work (Canadian University) because Iā€™m required to, its the only way I can access the systems I need to do my job. Most of us have VPN on our computers because its easier than re-wiring 100 year old buildings. Getting rid of VPNs would shut down many major Canadian University (FIPPA changed the way we deal with, and access student records, weā€™re required to be ā€œsecureā€, more than we were).

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Dissenting opinions are already censored, the most obvious example being sex-positive opinions. Commercial filters in the US thoughtfully prevented kids from accessing information about breast cancer and STDs. But not bestiality, for some reason.

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Then there would be dragonfly drones hovering to ensure that you are growing government sanctioned food products via Monsanto seeds.

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Land of the free
ā€¦ ohh wait.

This is all a bit Daily Mail, isnā€™t it? In my experience, Iā€™ve had to opt out of filtering each time I got a new mobile SIM with data, and havenā€™t had a problem connecting to VPNs after that. (With T-Mobile and 3, at least, all it took was a short phone call or having a word with someone in the shop.)

Iā€™m sure that the proposed broadband filters, if they ever get implemented, will work along similar lines to this setup. But I think itā€™s alarmist to suggest that that the ā€˜adult content blockā€™ - which has been a feature of mobile networks for years - means Cameronā€™s Great UK Censorwall is suddenly springing to life.

Er, I meanā€¦ wake up, sheeple! Orwell was right when he said theyā€™d come for our VPNs!

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probably more likely they will regulate them out of existence. laws for instance banning the growing of vegetables within 300 feet of a city road or something along those lines. they may justify it by claiming people growing their own vegetables are using more water and using up all the water reserves or that the vegetables are unsightly, or obscure your presence(think corn, not carrots) thus being regulated the same as a privacy fence, never underestimate the power of red tape, if you ban it people will fight back, if you make it ostensibly impossible under a mountain of red tape they will think they can do it but itā€™s just not worth their time.

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simple enough, voter registration would require a valid home phone number and all government services would be available only via internet or phone.
and if you dare to live on a $0 income well then you will be a pariah, and sufficiently shunned by all, and how will you tell your side without the internet and phone?

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Its all part of the plan for this current generation growing up to accept this kind of censorship in ā€˜their best interestā€™. or for ā€˜national securityā€™. Never mind that it reeks of thought control. I am beginning to see that Orwellā€™s ā€˜1984ā€™ was just a starting point.

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I donā€™t think theyā€™re blocking VPNs as a technology (so, the private VPN set up by your work would be fine) - it sounds like theyā€™re blocking access to specific commercial VPN providers.

Is the UK in worse shape than the USA?