With the growing trend of states and nations attempting to regulate adult content, how feasible is it for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to implement a comprehensive filter or firewall that bans all adult content sites? Could this be achieved through the use of artificial intelligence, and what challenges might they face in doing so?
4 Answers
Using DNS filtering might be the simplest solution for ISPs, but it won't catch everything. Users savvy enough to change their DNS settings could bypass these restrictions, making it only a partial solution.
The word "All" is the main sticking point here. While blocking some sites might be manageable, covering everything isn't practical. There's just too much out there!
Creating a filter to block all adult sites is easier said than done. There's no comprehensive registry of every adult website, so how would ISPs determine which sites to block? Plus, defining what qualifies a site as adult content is a gray area. Who decides that? It's a complex issue!
Some states are considering policies where ISPs automatically block adult content and require users to opt-in if they want to access it. That said, there's a lot of work involved in maintaining and updating a list of blocked sites, and this might not stop people from using VPNs. Also, legitimate sites could end up being unfairly blocked too.
Legislators might suggest using keywords and visual content to identify flagged sites, but that could be pretty messy!