Re: "adult content providers"
What’s to stop each porn site logging your viewing list of your verified profile, which they may already do under quite legally as defined in their T&C’s. Then that database is hacked/mistakenly left unsecured on a cloud server (cos we’ve never seen that happen) and then people find out what you’re into, especially if it isn’t of a vanilla flavour. That’s before you get into the problem of creep, where things get added to the list of content that websites are required to have age verification for before you can view them. One day you wake up and discover your favourite technology website is on a list of sites that someone in power believes should require verification. Why? Because they discuss things that may help circumvent such requirements. Then OFCOM say that the visual verification checks aren’t effectIve enough and children are able to bypass them. So ID upload is required……..
My university when the internet was first introduced there had a draconian list of words and subjects that you weren’t allowed to search for. No one had thought that this might have unintended consequences. So for example the popular music students who were given an assignment on punk music found that they couldn’t access anything about the Sex Pistols because the word Sex was on the banned list. Anthropology students and criminology students faced similar problems. This was swiftly reversed and “Sex” along with some other terms/words were searchable for the first time. Although the draconian restrictions still applied because you didn’t have to log in to the university system to surf the net but did have to use specific computers. There were unfiltered computers available for faculty use, which meant that most of them had no idea there were blocks.
When I was looking for a new TV for the spare bedroom recently I found myself going past a Currys store. I went in to see what they had on special offer, and whether they had anything really cheap, such as one that was a cancelled order etc. The sales droid tried to interest me in TV’s with “Freely” on them and said that it was better than freeview. I therefore googled it and looked at the Freely site and they list the following ‘great’ features:
One press of the Freely button on your remote... and you’re in! - One press on my power button suffices at the moment!
Glammed-up TV Guide to find what’s on now, next, and later - Why do I want a ‘glammed up’ TV guide? What’s wrong with an EPG like I have now?
Brand new MiniGuide to help you find more of what you love! - Why do I need a ‘MiniGuide’?
Pause and restart live TV – snacks, anyone?! - I can already do that on my existing TV.
Find and watch new shows and old faves on your Browse page - See above comments about guides
Accessible TV Guide so everyone can enjoy great TV - There’s already one of those on channel 555 on my current TV.
I told him that I didn’t see any of that being different to what I can do at the moment with my current TV. I can already find what I want to watch on TV without this new streaming thing, mini guide etc. I can pause live tv thanks to the hard drive attached to it. Wouldn’t this just be sending my viewing habits to people/companies that I don’t know? He unsurprisingly said he didn’t know about that. I said I don’t need streaming so please disregard that when showing me televisions. He mentioned that streaming wouldn’t be affected by the weather to which I said that my current set up isn’t either. It has to be torrential monsoon downpours before my satellite reception is affected and the terrestrial signal hasn’t ever been yet. I then explained what I wanted in a tv and apparently just buying a normal plug it in and watch the broadcast signal TV is very hard nowadays. I asked him when were the cameras going to be mandatory on TV’s so that surveillance of you as well as what you watch was complete? He hadn’t read 1984 nor seen the film from what I gathered from his response.