BT has launched the new ‘default’ online parental control filters for its new customers in a bid to protect children online.
Aimed at blocking sites considered to be unsuitable for children, the default BT Parental Controls filter will be offered for any internet-enabled device connected to BT’s home broadband service.
Being offered in three levels including strict, moderate and light, consumers can also avoid the new service by actively choosing not to switch it on.
BT consumer commercial marketing and digital managing director Pete Oliver said the company takes the issue of online child protection extremely seriously and has launched the whole-home filter to help parents keep their families safe online.
It adds to the many tools we already make available for free to our customers," Oliver said.
"We’ve been focused on the issue of online safety since we developed the world’s first Cleanfeed filter to block child abuse images and made the technology available free to other ISPs across the world a decade ago."
BT’s latest move comes in the wake of the government’s call for internet service providers (ISP) to sort out authorised pornography and other adult subjects ‘by default’.
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According to the British ISP, existing broadband users will be allowed to decide whether or not they want to opt the new service upon being contacted next year.
As part of efforts to boost kids’ online safety, tech firms including Google and Microsoft have agreed to block child porn from their search results.
The tech firms’ move comes after the UK PM David Cameron recommended Google and Microsoft’s Bing to strive on thwarting users’ access to explicit images.
