David Cameron will shortly announce a government backed code of conduct to block pornography in public wifi hotspots, located in premises where children may be present.
The Prime Minister said old the Telegraph that he wanted “good, clean WiFi’ in public spaces which would give parents confidence that their children cannot access illicit websites on smart phones or mobile computers.”
He went on to say “We are promoting good, clean, WiFi in local cafes and elsewhere to make sure that people have confidence in public WiFi systems so that they are not going to see things they shouldn’t.”
The move comes after a long running campaign by a coalition of Children’s charities, calling for major WiFi suppliers to put a ban on WiFi access to unacceptable sites within public places where children may be. John Carr, the coalition’s secretary told the Telegraph “We welcome any deal which is long overdue. Public access to the internet is a modern reality and we have to find a way of dealing with this growing problem.”
It will soon become clear whether these new guidelines will place the onus on WiFi suppliers, or whether it will be the responsibility of the individual businesses offering WiFi to their customers to take appropriate action.
Claire Perry, David Cameron’s adviser on Children’s issues told the BBC “”We are making progress on family-friendly internet access. We have done it without heavy-handed legislation.”
As a certified member of the Internet Watch Foundation, Purple WiFi ensures that content filtering for black listed URL’s is regularly updated, and that customer WiFi access is family friendly and legally compliant.