Skip to content
Blog

Government launches consultation on online blocking

29 June 2012

The government has today launched a consultation to ask parents and businesses whether automatic online blocks should be introduced to help protect children from adult and harmful websites.

The consultation paper asks for views on three options for the best approach in keeping children safe online:

  1. a system, known as “default on” or “opt-in”, where people’s home Internet Service Provider or each internet-enabled device (laptop and desktop computers; mobile phones; tablets and television) blocks harmful content automatically before any customer purchases it. They can later choose to adjust or remove the blocks if parents want to access the blocked websites.
  2. a system where customers are always presented with an unavoidable choice about whether or not they want filters and blocks installed either on their home internet service and/or each internet-enabled device they are buying – an approach known as “active choice“. This applies at either the ‘point of purchase’, either online, telephone or over the counter or when a customer first switches on a new device or internet subscription.
  3. a system that combines features of both systems, where customers are presented with a list of online content that will be blocked automatically unless they choose to unblock them – or “active choice” plus.

Childnet will be responding to this consultation drawing on the experiences of children and young people and the concerns of parents and carers that we hear in our schools work across the country on a daily basis.

Latest articles

Less than a month left to enter the Childnet Film Competition 2025

The countdown is on until the 2nd June! With only one month left until the Childnet Film Competition closes for entries, it’s time to get your camera rolling and your creativity flowing. There’s still time for your students aged 7-18 to enter a short film into the competition. The theme for this year’s competition is: “It’s not your fault.” […]

7 May 2025

Talking about misogyny and other themes raised in Netflix’s Adolescence

Netflix’s ‘Adolescence’ has become a very popular limited series, being watched by over 30 million people across the globe. Although it is important to note that Adolescence is fictional series, it has created a lot of discussion amongst the public and has been a key focus of questions from parents, carers and young people in many of our recent school sessions.

29 April 2025

Fivium raise an amazing £12,000 in support of Childnet

The team at Fivium have cycled, run and walked an amazing 4424 miles on a virtual route around France, in order to raise money for Childnet.