The Friendly WiFi scheme was officially launched today in the UK and Ireland and Purple WiFi is proud to be part of it. Should the scheme be successful, it is hoped that Friendly WiFi will be launched globally.
This time last year, David Cameron announced that the UK’s main WiFi providers had committed to an agreement for content filtering across all public WiFi networks easily accessible by children and young people. The PM also stated that he wanted a logo for public WiFi providers to use. This logo would show customers that the WiFi is filtered and access to inappropriate content is blocked.
The UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS), the government and public WiFi providers have all been working together to develop and launch the Friendly WiFi scheme. The Friendly WiFi logo will be available to any public WiFi provider who is committed to supporting the need for safeguarding online content. Displaying the logo helps parents and children to make informed choices about where they access public WiFi.
Supporting the Friendly WiFi scheme has been a big priority for Purple WiFi, as we are already heavily involved with the work of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF). We automatically filter blacklisted URL’s identified by the IWF with our content filtering service.
Emma Hardy, Director of External Relations at the IWF said: “The Friendly WiFi mark should act as a beacon of reassurance for internet users that WiFi offered in public places meets minimum agreed standards. These standards include filtering the Internet Watch Foundation’s list of child sexual abuse images and videos and we are proud to have helped participate in the Friendly WiFi scheme.”
Our CEO, Gavin Wheeldon, added: “We are committed to educating WiFi providers about the need for safeguarding against inappropriate content being viewed over public networks and the importance of meeting minimum standards. We fully support the Friendly WiFi scheme, and will encourage our partners and customers to get involved and support it too”.