YNOT EUROPE – Thirty-seven percent of UK residents support the government’s controversial plan to require mandatory opt-in internet filtering for pornography and other material potentially harmful to children, according to a survey commissioned by the British newspaper The Telegraph.

The poll of 2,000 adults in the UK also discovered about 25 percent of respondents join internet service providers in opposing such a plan. An additional 18 percent declined to stipulate a position.

Only 6.7 percent of respondents admitted they would ask for porn filters to be removed from their accounts, while 13 percent indicated they would not opt in to see adult materials.

The British government is carrying out a public consultation about root-level filtering, ostensibly in an attempt to make internet usage safer for children. In addition to automatically blocking access to sexually explicit materials, the proposals currently before members of Parliament and communications commissioners include provisions for limiting access to gambling sites, forums that encourage suicide and eating disorders, and user-uploaded depictions of violence.

The government has asked the public to weigh in about whether broadband ISPs should be forced to block any content at all. If consumers approve of automatic blocking, the government also wishes to know what kinds of materials should be blocked and under what circumstances individuals might be allowed to unblock part or all of the restricted material.

Free-speech advocates claim the move could lead to creeping censorship in other areas. ISPs have suggested methods that would enable parents to take control of their children’s internet habits without restricting the access afforded to adults. ISPs also have suggested filters that block all content and allow verified adults to remove the blocks on request could lull parents into a false sense of security. Children, they say, are notoriously able to work around technology they don’t like.