Sky will soon switch on adult broadband filters for indecisive customers

As part of David Cameron's plan to protect young internet users, broadband providers have been forced to offer an "unavoidable choice." This impels new subscribers to decide whether they want to enable or disable blocks on adult content. However, UK consumers have already highlighted their dislike for such filters, with only one in every seven customers letting the big four UK ISPs guard them from porn and the darker parts of the internet. One of those major providers, Sky, saw just eight percent of customers enable the option before July 2013, but that statistic could change drastically as part of new measures announced today.

In the coming days, Sky's broadband filters will become always on. The company says it will begin emailing users who haven't already enabled or disabled Sky Broadband Shield asking them to decide which option is best for their home. If no decision is made, Sky will automatically enable them. TalkTalk has also helped guide users by pre-ticking the filter selection box, meaning that 34 percent of users are using its filters, but Sky is taking it one step further by taking action on behalf of its subscribers. Customers can change their setting at any time, which could come in useful if they find that the government has erroneously blocked educational, medical and emergency resources like it has in the past.