Conclusions

An ISP can't possibly police the Internet; it's a public information source, which houses millions of websites, IRC channels and newsgroup posts with users alongside. Simply because you receive service through an ISP does not mean to say they have the power to police 100% of the Internet, 100% of the time, that's not possible and not what they do. Yet in modern times the 'censor heads' are turning increasingly towards ISPs for accountability.

If you're driving on a bus from 'Moss Side' in London and somebody insults you for no reason, is that the drivers fault or yours for getting on a transport system filled with gun touting child gangsters? Fair enough though, if the user of an ISP uses that particular ISPs web space to produce an offensive page then it is the ISPs responsibility. It's simply not the ISPs responsibility for dealing with systems out of their direct control and nor should it be.

The victory over Demon Internet in the UK has been categorised as the first steps towards a more 'Policed Internet', something most of us don't wish to see happen. Policing invariably invokes a loss of privacy to some degree and that's the last thing you want. As time moves on this issue will grow and we'll most likely be back here again in another year's time.

The key point to be made is simple, ISPs provide the access and you make use of the services. The ISP simply acts as a main door to the rooms of a house filled with information, you can't blame the main door if it can't lock off the kitchen because it's stuck in one place and there are other doors for dealing with that. Invariably Censorship of the Internet leads to more limited access and usability, anything from multiplayer games (in-game chat) to website forums and chat systems have the potential to be banned.

Thank to 'Chris.B' for his help and we'll be reporting more on this in the future, please feel free to send your comments in via E-Mail and we'll post the best ones below - keep them short.

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