The Block Porn Campaign, headed by Claire Perry MP, calls for UK-based Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to provide anti-porn filters at network level. This would stop most pornography from reaching our computers and internet-enabled devices, and protect children much more effectively. Convergence, which means the internet can be viewed on our TV screens, makes this doubly important.
Here’s the latest update on the campaign:
Safermedia news’n’action no. 89
Dear Friends,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and MPs respond to growing public concern – well done!
On 20 June, Claire Perry MP, Safermedia and several other groups attended a meeting in Parliament of ISPA, the Internet Service Providers Association. Your support is making a big difference, and we were able to put some good points to the meeting. Despite a diverse range of views, there was general and encouraging agreement that more would indeed be done to block internet pornography.
The ISPs are coming under ever more pressure. Seventy MPs are now supporting Claire and have just set up a Parliamentary Inquiry into Online Child Protection in September and October. This is another major step forward.
Next Stage of the Campaign
We are continuing to press for ISP-level filters plus a default OFF setting for porn, rather than device-level filters (see our templates for more detail). However the ISPs are still reluctant to go this far, and when they will act is far from clear. Claire has emphasized that we must continue to rally more MPs to maintain the momentum of this groundswell of public opinion. In David Cameron’s statement to Parliament on the NewsCorp scandal, he said this was a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity to try and get media regulation right.’
ACTION
So, if you have not already done so, please write to both your MP and ISP.
If you have already sent those letters, our thanks, and please now:
Send David Cameron a copy of the letter to your MP (by filling in the MPs letter again, writing COPY across the top and posting it 10 Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA or emailing it at https://email.number10.gov.uk/Contact.aspx).
Please forward this email to your contacts.
INSTRUCTIONS
Please use our 2 template letters for your MP and ISP, shown below and downloadable at: http://www.safermedia.org.uk/2011internetfiltercampaign.htm
You will find all the addresses you need on these templates. If you prefer, you can use the template simply as a guide and write a letter in your own words. (NB: The details about an opt-IN system being required are vital.)
Can you also make hard copies of the templates and distribute them to clubs, churches, your workplace, friends and family too? Numbers matter.
Please spread this information as widely as possible to all your contacts. (NB: If you are an organisation, it is best to pass on the template letter, approved by Claire Perry’s office, as it is.
Thank God for answered prayer and pray for continued progress in this campaign. Also ask for God’s will to be done in the current scandal surrounding the Murdoch empire – that it will eventually lead to higher standards throughout the media world.
We now have a new website! Check it out for updates and more information: http://www.safermedia.org.uk/welcome.htm
Thank you and best wishes for the summer break,
Miranda, Pippa, Tushar and the SafermediaTeam