LONDON — Britain's public Wi-Fi hot spots may be cooling off — and that means no porn.
A proposal set to be unveiled by Prime Minister David Cameron will lay out a code of conduct that blocks porn in public places like cafes and railroad stations in what’s being presented as effort to protect children from adult content.
Cameron is reportedly responding to pressure from organizations including The Children’s’ Charities Coalition on Internet Safety that’s been demanding action from ISPs including British Telecom (BT) and the government.
“We are promoting good, clean, Wi-Fi in local cafes and elsewhere to make sure that people have confidence in public Wi-Fi systems so that they are not going to see things they shouldn’t,” Cameron told The Telegraph.
The idea is an apparent move by Cameron to appease conservative groups, spearheaded by Member of Parliament Claire Perry, demanding porn filtering by ISPs. It’s not clear whether ISPs will enforce the ban or if it will be up to the public venues themselves.
A spokesman for the Charities’ coalition said he has no problem with porn being piped into adults only spots like casinos, but where it gets sticky is in general public locations like hotels, restaurants, public transportation and certain shops where porn is reportedly proliferating.
Late last year Cameron proposed a new plan that prompted parents to state if there are children in the house when buying a new computer in an effort to shield them from adult material.
