Should internet service providers block pornography by default?

Should internet service providers block access to online pornography as a default, forcing would-be viewers to opt in? (iStock)A Conservative MP in the U.K. is pushing for internet restrictions that would require Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block pornography and other "harmful content" unless the customer explicitly asks to remove the block.

The "opt-in" model of filtering internet content is one suggestion being considered as the government debates how to protect children from porn, as well as websites that promote suicide, anorexia, gambling, self-harm, cyber-bullying and violence.

The U.K.'s four largest internet service providers have signed up for a code of practice that offer customers a choice to apply filters, but the government is conducting public consultations about how those choices would be presented.

The government has already proposed an "active choice" model that would ask customers whether they want open access to the internet.

Conservative MP Claire Perry has pushed for further restrictions that would block "harmful" content automatically and would ask customers if they want to turn on access to this content.

"I want to fully explore every option that might help make children safer - including whether internet filters should be switched on as the default, so that adult content is blocked unless you decide otherwise," said Prime Minister David Cameron in a statement.

A press release posted on the website of the Department of Education suggests that the filter might even apply on each device an ISP customer owns.

The option to gain access to restricted content would be presented to the customer when they first turn on the device.

U.K. children's minister Tim Loughton said that many parents want to control the content their children are exposed to.

"All too often they do not how know how because they find the technology too difficult to use or their children are more technically advanced then they are," he said.

Loughton also acknowledged that no filter is 100 per cent effective.

Critics have raised privacy concerns about the opt-in alternatives, and point out that not all adults are parents.

Do you think ISPs should block online porn by default? Why or why not? Should Canadian ISPs be asked to do the same? Share your thoughts in the comment field below.

(This survey is not scientific. Results are based on readers' replies.)