Sky has released figures showing that its automatic online pornography block has had significant take-up since it was rolled out earlier this year.
More than 70 per cent of customers chose not to opt out of Sky’s Broadband Shield, which is designed to block content deemed unsuitable for children under the age of 13.
Previously, when customers had to take action to set up the filter, less than five per cent actually did so.
Safest way
Sky says this shows that a default ‘on’ position is the “safest and easiest way to protect families online”.
“Sky’s decision to give customers a choice about Broadband Shield whilst making the default position ‘on’ meant that many more customers took an active interest in what the product offers”, a statement said.
“It means that no families are left unprotected unless they choose to be”, the statement continued.
Incredibly harmful
Will Gardner, CEO of online protection charity ChildNet International, said: “This opt-out approach is a good recommendation for parents, because it forces them to make a choice.
“It’s not a solution to the problem but it does reduce the chances of accidental exposure to content that can be incredibly harmful to children.”
In 2013, Prime Minister David Cameron warned that easy access to online pornography is ‘corroding childhood’ and urged ISPs to adopt automatic filters in order to protect children.
Most of the UK’s ISPs now offer systems to block unsuitable material, but unlike Sky’s Broadband Shield they are not switched on by default.