Should we block access to extremist web sites?
According to the latest news, Home Secretary Theresa May is considering proposals for blocking access to web sites that promote religious extremism, although Prime Minister David Cameron earlier told the nation that we should not have knee-jerk reactions to the horrific murder of a soldier in Woolwich.
The problem is that we keep having short-lived and poorly-informed ideas about banning or blocking various types of content on the web: child abuse images, extremist pornography, religious fundamentalism, promotion of anorexia, bulimia or suicide, the list goes on … What we need is a calm and rational debate about how we might introduce an approach to problematic content on the Net (and other media in this age of convergence) that is consistent, proportionate, transparent and accountable.
The two-year old DCMS Communications Review would have been one vehicle for this but the opportunity was totally missed. The long-awaited Communications White Paper – now forecast for before the summer recess of Parliament – is another chance to float some ides or proposals.
You can read my ‘starter for ten’ here.