FPB welcomes Vodacom blocking site

[karnuffel]

Your child could stumble into a paedophile at school, at church, in the supermarket, etc, etc.

What about Mxit? Any chat chat program or social networking type site, for that matter?

It's a parents job to make sure their kids are safe, definitely not the job of internet service providers, especially if they choose to censor things they have no place censoring.

Indeed, if you know that the man down the street owns a black van and likes to give sweets to little kids you are surely going to try anything in your power to not have your kid walk past his house. The same with mxit, blocking the chartrooms (the parents responsibility) will make it safer.

If a parent chooses a network that they know is trying to make internet access even a little bit safer (it will never be 100% safe) aren't they doing a small bit to keep their kids safer? I would suggest that the censorship should be sold as a VAS not be implemented across the board.

The can of worms this opens however is scary... Does vodacom have a policy regarding the blocking of such websites?

 

[copacetic]

The can of worms this opens however is scary... Does vodacom have a policy regarding the blocking of such websites?

It seems the policy is that if it gets complained about enough, it gets blocked. Utterly and totally unacceptable.

I wouldn't go near Vodacom with a barge-pole.

I've no problem with something like this offered as a choice, on an individual basis but as a straight censorship for all? Never mind the fact that they have no right to do this (and if they did, it would make me steer well clear of them anyway) but it is slippery slope, what's next?

 

[noxibox]

Hmmmmm.... There are two sides of the coin here IMHO. I am not a parent (except for my Scottish Terrier), but I would imagine that as a parent I would prefer that my kids can not stumble onto websites that are a known playground for pedophiles.

A child is far more likely to be abused by someone known to them and their parents than some random stranger.

 

[STS]

Hmmmmm.... There are two sides of the coin here IMHO. I am not a parent (except for my Scottish Terrier), but I would imagine that as a parent I would prefer that my kids can not stumble onto websites that are a known playground for pedophiles.

That being said I would suggest that Vodacom rather start selling a VAS that makes browsing safe/safer for kids (I thought they have one ). That being said, remember rule 34... edit: and rule 36 for that matter

Saying that parents should be able to control their kids is kinda naive IMHO, kids are kids and kids will be curious, and they will be even more curious if you block something...

so what do we do? not let our kids near a computer or out of the house until they're 18? it is the job of the parents to talk to their kids and be open about it. and besides that, there are thousands of sites where paedophiles hang out, and facebook is one of them. what do they do, ban facebook? i don't care if the site is ugly or not, when i was younger i had no one to help me with my personal issues, and surprise surprise, i stumbled upon a taboo site that explained my personal issues to me and said "hey, don't worry, you're not alone." when i genuinely thought i was.

censoring things is not the way to go, how do you even FIND a site like that in google unless you intentionally were looking for it?

if christians can bitch about a magazine that didn't sell being put back on the shelves, we can bitch about a website that people hardly visit being reopened.

 

[daveza]

i stumbled upon a taboo site that explained my personal issues to me

Sorry, but you can't just drop that in and not give details

 

[STS]

Sorry, but you can't just drop that in and not give details

i was into hamster porn, let me be

what i mean is if they block sites based on certain content, i feel it's not up to them. people can very well complain about things outside their interests and that they do not get, i mean if everyone got their way the Philosophy Forum would have disappeared a long time ago, and who would be affected? the people that use it, not the people who can stay clear of it. i hate this moral sense of righteousness where you have to force people to comply with your sense of right and wrong

 

[grayston]

Hmmmmm.... There are two sides of the coin here IMHO. I am not a parent (except for my Scottish Terrier), but I would imagine that as a parent I would prefer that my kids can not stumble onto websites that are a known playground for pedophiles.

Dear Vodacom,

The holder of the following number, 072 123 4567 (my son/daughter) is under the age of 16. Please can you disable all data access to this number.

Many thanks,
Concerned Parent.

 

[silentbee]

If I was a Vodacom client I would no longer be one - I don't pay others to be my moral guardian.

I want to know how I can now get out of my contract. And I don't even use Vodacom for data. Much.

 

[silentbee]

It seems the policy is that if it gets complained about enough, it gets blocked. Utterly and totally unacceptable.

If that is indeed the policy, I say we all complain about some other random site. Perhaps Vodacom's own site -- I'm sure you could find something that, taken out of context, would cause offence. Or a bank's website. Or some political party website. Once they start to censor, it's a slippery slope...

 

[daveza]

I hear that Cell C have followed suit - and possibly MTN as well.

On Cape Talk today they interviewed Arthur Goldstuck who initiated this - I know Arthur reads this forum and has long been regarded with integrity in the IT comms game so if the spirit moves him perhaps he can convince us ( me ) how this is not the thin edge of the censorship wedge.

 

[silentbee]

I hear that Cell C have followed suit - and possibly MTN as well.

Damn. I just contacted them about switching. I guess they're all colluding again...

 

[Drunkard #1]

World wide worx needs to be reported to 4chan. And those beacons of morality and ethical behaviour, the cellular networks, now decide what we can and can't see; this is a very slippery slope. Soon, the only ISP worth using will be Telkom.

 

[daveza]

Soon, the only ISP worth using will be Telkom.

RBP'd for blasphemy !

 

[copacetic]

RPM'd ?

 

[TonyHawk]

Soon, the only ISP worth using will be Telkom.

A while ago when we had those 5-digit subscription numbers in Telkoms days of providing it... it also got out of hand
At least Telkom had the balls to shut down a very profitable section of its business... when others abused the service for porn and other scams.

Can't say that for a lot of the cellphone companies and others

 

[Valis]

No, free speech is conditional on responsibility. What of pedophilia on the net? What of cyber bullying? Free speech, or a bunch of nasty yobs hiding behind free speech?

NO IT ISN'T!!! Ignorant morons like you are the reason why we are losing our civil liberties and why governments around the world are getting away with it. “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” - Voltaire

Pedophilia is illegal. Let the police handle it.

There is no such thing as cyber-bullying. This was something made up by the government once again to justify their oppression of free speech. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." I can't believe these ignorant morons who are clamouring to give away our hard fought freedoms, sheesh.

 

[w1z4rd]

There is no such thing as cyber-bullying.

Of course there is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber-bullying

Perhaps you can tell Megan Meier that cyber bullying is fake? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_of_Megan_Meier

Cyber Bullying is very real and a real concern, but thats why we have the police and judicial system to deal with this kinda stuff.

 

[seventhson]

Well done on Vodacom for this. Clearly the parents either dont care or dont want to know what their kids are up to.

I think kids these days are doing allot worse things than looking at porn on the net