Our Blocked project aims to improve transparency about web blocking filters used by mobile phone companies and Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
Central to this is the Blocked tool, which lets you check to see if yours or any website is being blocked. We’ve used it to unblock thousands of wrongfully censored websites. It’s easy to use, give it a try!
USE OUR WEB TOOL TO CHECK YOUR WEBSITE
What’s the problem?
Mobile and broadband Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have created filters to stop under 18s from seeing harmful content online. Unfortunately, filters block many harmless websites by mistake – even sites that are aimed at children! Often website owners don’t know that this is happening.
Around 3.5 million households have filters switched on, through choice, or by default. In addition, many mobile phone users have filters enabled as they are on by default.
We need people to use this tool to check and report sites that shouldn’t be filtered. Not only will you be helping website owners, you will also increase transparency about filters by helping us to get a clearer picture about overblocking.
The Story So Far
25 Jul 2014
Ofcom report shows consumers don’t want filters
The ISPs told Ofcom how many customers have been offered the filters, and how many have set them up.
Read more
15 Jan 2014
How to complain about mobile filtering over-blocking
Yesterday we had a very helpful meeting with the BBFC.
Read more
24 Dec 2013
O2 pulls blocked URL checker as wave of new customers activate their phones
While O2 are the only company providing any transparency with their checker, this is a bad move.
Read more
23 Dec 2013
Help ORG monitor UK blocking and filtering
ORG is putting together tools to track what is blocked and where.
Read more
23 Dec 2013
Blocking: what could possibly go wrong?
We now have two kinds of blocking: firstly, mobile companies, providing one or two levels of filtering, which has to be actively switched off.
Read more
19 Dec 2013
Ten recommendations to ISPs for dealing with over-blocking
We started looking closely at internet filtering by mobile networks a couple of years ago.
Read more
18 Dec 2013
Why WordPress bloggers were blocked by TalkTalk, and what it tells us about Internet filtering
At the end of November a number of WordPress blog admins complained on WordPress forums that they were having problems accessing their accounts.
Read more
13 Dec 2013
BT answers our questions about parental controls
Today BT launched their new Parental Controls service, the latest ISP to roll out network level filters following the Government’s push this summer.
Read more
15 Nov 2013
Sky’s reply to ORG on default internet filters
Sky are the first Internet Service Provider to send us answers to all of our questions about their default filtering.
Read more
14 Aug 2013
Virgin and Sky blindly blocking innocent sites
As reported by PC Pro, the systems implemented by both Virgin and Sky to stop access to websites blocked by the courts appear to be blocking innocent third-party sites with apparently little or no human oversight.
Read more
09 Aug 2013
Website blocking measures lead to inadvertent censorship
TorrentFreak reports today that Sky is currently blocking access to their site.
Read more
01 Aug 2013
Diane Abbott responds on web forum blocking
On a cycling forum, members who are rightly worried that their forum may be blocked by default filters, Skydancer posted a response he was given by Diane Abbott:I do not believe that the arrangements to protect children from hard core p*rn online will affect a forum to discuss cycling!
Read more
30 Jul 2013
A quick guide to Cameron’s default Internet filters
David Cameron wants all British Internet users to make an “unavoidable choice” on whether to switch on default filtering.
Read more
27 Jul 2013
Who exactly is responsible for ‘nudge censorship’?
In essence, DCMS’s Maria Miller, Claire Perry and David Cameron’s staff have hijacked agreed cabinet policy, pushed for something very different and persuaded ISPs that they should implement significantly worse policies than originally envisaged.
Read more
25 Jul 2013
Sleepwalking into censorship
The essential detail is that they will assume you want filters enabled across a wide range of content, and unless you un-tick the option, network filters will be enabled.
Read more
22 Jul 2013
David Cameron is issuing bad advice to parents
Last week, we published a list of questions about the impacts of filtering technologies, on privacy, Internet applications and user awareness of the technology.
Read more
19 Jul 2013
Questions ISPs must answer about Internet filtering
Over the past few weeks the Government has held meetings with Internet companies about child protection online.
Read more
17 Jun 2013
Jargon File blocked by O2, Youtube by Orange
Report your blocks here.
Read more
13 Jun 2013
Website filtering problems are a ‘load of co*ck’
The motion laid down by Labour says:That this House deplores the growth in child abuse images online; deeply regrets that up to one and a half million people have seen such images; notes with alarm the lack of resources available to the police to tackle this problem; further notes the correlation between viewing such images and further child abuse; notes with concern the Government’s failure to implement the recommendations of the Bailey Review and the Independent Parliamentary Inquiry into Online Child Protection on ensuring children’s safe access to the internet; and calls on the Government to set a timetable for the introduction of safe search as a default, effective age verification and splash page warnings and to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure these changes are speedily implemented.
Read more
31 May 2013
What mobile internet filtering tells us about p*rn blocks
There’s been plenty of coverage today of calls to do more to block access to p*rnography, and specifically p*rnography on the Internet.
Read more
31 May 2013
Sacrificing freedom on the altar of political fears
These are extraordinarily big leaps, with little thought to the consequences.
Read more
24 Jan 2013
What is the Government’s online child protection policy?
I would prefer to be writing an article with a headline that doesn’t have a question mark at the end.
Read more
02 Jan 2013
Online gift shop blocked by mobile networks
[Update 10th January 2013] The blocks on the website has now been removed.
Read more
20 Dec 2012
Confusion over parental Internet controls
Five days ago, the Department for Education announced a very reasonable approach to child protection online.
Read more
17 Dec 2012
Another church blocked by mobile networks
About this time last year we wrote about a church that had been blocked by O2’s mobile Internet filters.
Read more
17 Nov 2012
Victory in sight: government signals climb down from “default” filtering?
According to reports this Saturday in the Daily Mail and Telegraph, David Cameron will be asking ISPs to ask customers if they have children, and if so, help them install filtering technology.
Read more
13 Jun 2012
Update on reported BT block of Black Triangle campaign website
Earlier this week TechWeekly reported the campaign group Black Triangle had complained that their site was being blocked by BT.
Read more
28 May 2012
Reporting ‘over-blocking’ to mobile operators
Since we published our report ‘Mobile Internet censorship: what’s happening and what to do about it‘, jointly with LSE Media Policy project, a number of people have been in touch with us asking what to do if they discover their site is blocked incorrectly by mobile networks’ child protection filters.
Read more
18 May 2012
New reports of overblocking on mobile networks
Since we launched our new research about Mobile Internet censorship on Monday, there’s been a rise in the number of reports to our website Blocked.
Read more
14 May 2012
Mobile Internet censorship: what’s happening and what to do
Today we’re launching a new report called “Mobile internet censorship: what’s happening and what we can do about it“, which is a joint publication with LSE Media Policy Project.
Read more
04 May 2012
Peace advocates’ website is blocked as p*rn on UK mobile networks
The past few days have seen a lot of attention given to the neo Mary Whitehouse campaign for default censorship.
Read more
15 Feb 2012
Orange UK blocking La Quadrature du Net
Through reports to the blocked.
Read more
23 Jan 2012
UK Mobile operators censor privacy tool ‘Tor’
Open Rights Group and Tor have established that UK mobile networks such asVodafone, O2 and 3 are filtering UK users’ access to Tor’s primary website(meaning theHTTP version of the Tor Project website, rather than connections to the Tor network) on pre-paid contractless accounts.
Read more
21 Dec 2011
O2 bans church this Christmas
For the last four months, and despite repeated complaints, O2 has blocked the website of a Sheffield church, claiming it features adult content.
Read more
19 Dec 2011
How does mobile Internet filtering work?
All the major UK mobile operators have Internet filtering schemes that block certain content from users.
Read more
20 Dec 2010
Default censorship is a bad idea
Yesterday and this morning we heard calls from government ministers and others for Internet Service Providers to block adult sites by default on customers’ accounts.
Read more
26 Oct 2006
UKNOF5: Richard Clayton – Content Filtering
Just popped in to the 5th UK Network Operators Forum to hear ORG advisory Council member Richard Clayton talk on content filtering.
Read more
More Information
17 June, 2019
ORG Regulation Report IIThis report follows our research into current Internet content regulation efforts, which found a lack of accountable, balanced and independent procedures governing content removal, both formally and informally by the state.
Find Out More
30 May, 2019
Collateral Damage in the War Against Online HarmsA summary of this report is also available on Top10 VPN’s website here.
Find Out More
18 December, 2018
UK Internet Regulation.
Find Out More
17 December, 2012
Parental controls and Internet filtering fact sheetContextOver the summer of 2012, the Department for Education consulted on whether Internet filters should be turned on by default for the purposes of online child protection.
Find Out More
29 June, 2012
Digital Privacy
What’s happening?
Find Out More
14 May, 2012
Digital Privacy
This report is about mobile Internet censorship.
Find Out More
Press Releases
28 October, 2015
ORG response to David Cameron’s call for web filter lawJim Killock, Executive Director of Open Rights Group (ORG) said:“We welcome the opportunity to have a debate about filters, which are flawed, censor websites and do not necessarily keep children safe online.
Find Out More
14 November, 2014
ORG response to extremist sites being blocked by ISP web filtersOpen Rights Group has responded to the announcement that ISPs will add extremist websitestofilters designed to protect children from seeing adult content.
Find Out More
02 July, 2014
ORG’s Blocked project finds almost 1 in 5 sites are blocked by filtersOpen Rights Group Blocked project finds almost 1 in 5 websites tested are blocked by web filtersHigh level of variation between ISPs suggest filters are not consistent in protecting childrenOverblocking is affecting bloggers, businesses and web users A Porsche broker, a political blogger and a mum hoping to read an article about post pregnancy care are among those that have been affected by filters designed to protect young people from adult content.
Find Out More
14 December, 2012
ORG victory on parental controlsJim Killock, Executive Director of the Open Rights Group welcomed the Department for Education response to their consultation on parental controls.
Find Out More
31 August, 2012
p*rn filtering: stop the Daily Mail Nanny StateWith less than a week to go before the close of the “adult content” filtering consultation, Open Rights Group is urging people to let the Department for Education know that default blocking would be disastrous.
Find Out More
28 June, 2012
We must not set up network censorshipReacting to the DfE’s new consultation, Jim Killock, Executive Director of the Open Rights Group said: “This can of worms pushes censorship technologies and could damage access to perfectly legitimate and innocent websites.
Find Out More
15 May, 2012
New ORG report reveals UK mobile Internet censorshipOpen Rights Group and LSE Media Policy Project launched a new report, ‘Mobile Internet censorship: what’s happening and what we can do about it‘ [1] on Monday 14th May.
Find Out More
04 May, 2012
Cameron wrong to push default p*rn blocksJim Killock, Executive Director of the Open Rights Group said:“We welcome a consultation but default filternets are awful.
Find Out More
27 April, 2012
Labour wrong to back Claire Perry “default blocking”Reacting to the Daily Mail‘s reports that Labour would be backing Claire Perry’s calls for default blocking of adult content, Jim Killock said:“Default blocks are a form of censorship.
Find Out More
18 April, 2012
Claire Perry’s “default blocking” would censor adults and fail childrenCommenting on Claire Perry’s committee findings, Jim Killock, Executive Director of the Open Rights Group said:“These recommendations, if enacted, would endanger children, create disruption for small business, and would not work technically.
Find Out More
11 October, 2011
Censorware or child protection?Tuesday 11 OctoberReacting to news of new agreements between ISPs to block adult content, or forcing adults to opt into to it, Jim Killock, Executive Director of the Open Rights Group, which campaigns for digital rights, said:“There is a world of difference between offering sensible child safety, and trying to persuade adults to live with layers of censorship.
Find Out More
Related Campaigns
Free expression online
What’s legal to say should be legal to type.
Find Out More
Free expression online
Nearly a year after passage of the EU Copyright Directive, which opened the door to automated upload filters that damage free speech, the UK Government decided not to implement it.
Find Out More
Free expression online
Open Rights Group intervened in a legal challenge in which French jeweller Cartier sought court injunctions ordering ISPs to block websites which sell counterfeit Cartier products.
Find Out More
Free expression online
July 2014Reform of outdated copyright laws has been a major campaign focus for ORG from day one.
Find Out More
Free expression online
With the Blocked project we did groundbreaking research on the impact of web filters.
Find Out More
Free expression online
With a professional comedy video highlighting what happens when you just want to look for classic Spotted Dick, we raised awareness of the problems caused by filtering the Internet in the UK.
Find Out More
Free expression online
From 2010 – 2011 we fought against a law which proposed disconnecting whole households from the Internet on the basis of allegations of copyright infringement.
Find Out More
Free expression online
May 2008 – July 2008ORG spearheaded resistance in the media, when BBC lawyers tried to shut down a knitting blogger who shared her Doctor Who cuddly Daleks and Ood designs on her site.
Find Out More
