My general rule is to ignore the news.

Internet filtering will do more harm than good

My general rule is to ignore the news. Sometimes a story appears that’s impossible for me to ignore, so a second part of my rule is to follow through, sign a petition, make a donation, or write to my MP if I care about an issue.

Today I did just that, in response to the new government proposals to force UK internet users to opt out of having their connection filtered. The idea is that, by default, internet users would have their access filtered, stripped of certain content, and particular search engine searches would be blocked, unless they un-tick a box. I think that’s wrong, so here’s what I wrote. I made a business-focussed argument, but there are many other angles to this issue.

Dear Tessa Jowell,

I’ve just moved to East Dulwich, and I’m pleased to see you’re now my MP. Your work on the Olympics was excellent.

I’m writing about Claire Perry’s proposals for opt-out internet filtering at the ISP level. I’m deeply concerned about these proposals, which, unless I am mistaken, seem to have been agreed upon without due process and consideration.

I won’t go into too much detail, because I am sure that because of your experience at DCMS you’re aware of the complex issues involved with internet regulation.

As a father of four children, it concerns me that this policy will not protect my children — because kids know how to get around these things, and in fact it will probably give parents a false sense of security and result in less oversight of how their kids use the internet. Conversely, it will have the effect of randomly blocking websites — my personal blog was blocked by Birmingham City Council for some time, for instance, despite it not containing anything offensive. And by blocking websites, correctly or incorrectly, you can have many knock-on effects for the businesses who rely on the internet (such as mine, and many others in London) to trade.

She has shown in her recent outburst to a blogger that she knows very little about how the internet works, even at the basic level of how a hyperlink works. Those who we expect to legislate around our lives should have a certain level of competence before being allowed to make such decisions, and sadly she has shown that she is well-meaning but dangerously misguided.

Given the importance of the internet to Britain’s competitiveness, the growing number of jobs that internet businesses such as mine create, particularly in Tech City, where we are based, I believe that having the government force ISPs to put damaging, unhelpful hinderances on internet use can only be a recipe for disaster.

I realise that there is only so much that the opposition can do in such circumstances, but I do feel that there is sufficient public interest in these very poorly considered proposals that the Prime Minister should face some tough questions on this issue, and that people who actually know how the internet works should be brought into the decision-making process.

Safety of children online is a huge issue for parents, yet this approach is ill-thought-through, unhelpful, potentially damaging to anyone who relies on the internet for their business, and that’s without getting into the multitude of issues around censorship and free speech.

Thank you for your time, please do not feel that you have to respond at length, but an indication of whether you agree with me and whether there is any action you or I can take would be appreciated.

Yours sincerely,

Stef Lewandowski