What’s the Best Filter?

From over the pond, The Register notes that plenty of people are still trying to regulate Internet content.

Controversy has stalked the content-blockers because the ISPs are expected to gently encourage their subscribers to opt in to filtering. Sky told The Register in May this year that it would pre-tick the box when informing customers that they can prevent, for example, access to websites they might deem inappropriate for their kids to view.

Late on Sunday, Lib Dem activists rejected the filters as “illiberal”. The vote, which took place at its annual conference in Glasgow, sets the Nick Clegg-led party apart from the Tories.

Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron has shifted his position on censoring the web a number of times over the course of the last few years.

It’s interesting to read the whole thing.  The ISPs are apparently putting out their own filters before they’re regulated to do it.  That’s a fairly smart approach to governing and business… make a rule and then give the companies time to enforce it so that it doesn’t have to be regulated (and, therefore, not work).  The initial system looks to have both a blacklist and whitelist capability, which is pretty smart for how to implement it.

That said, what’s the best filter for internet content?  Well, responsible adults.  Honestly, electronics can’t cover everything, though it continues to improve.  Of course, so does the ability of content providers to get around filters.

But people who actually care about what you view and read?  Well, they appear to have a pretty decent effect on less-responsible people who could view the content.  Hopefully there’s some ink on that part, as well.