Index on Censorship is concerned that David Cameron’s internet filtering proposals may cause unwarranted censorship.

Index CEO Kirsty Hughes said today:

“Encouraging internet service providers to automatically turn filters on for legal content will legitimise the censorship of legal material and will also lead to overblocking of sites, such as sexual health and education sites — as research has shown. Such filters can also lead to a false sense of security – active involvement of parents in choosing filter levels for their children is the best approach and need not be implemented in ways that result in censorship for the adult population.

“Tackling child abuse including associated images, both of which are illegal is crucial. Cameron’s proposals are though unclear – creating an ever expanding blacklist of illegal search terms risks censorship of perfectly legal and innocuous searches.”

Related
• Full text of David Cameron’s speech