Internet porn blocking: What BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media are actually doing

Claims that the four major UK internet service providers (ISPs) will offer an option to block pornography are wide of the mark.

In actuality, the 'big four' of BT, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Sky Broadband already offer ways to filter the web content such as pornography. The only change will be the amount of information given to customers about parental controls and web blocking.

In a joint statement, the ISPs said that when signing up to a broadband package, customers would be told more about parental controls and asked if they want to use it. The statement also said that customers would be told how to personalise the software to match their needs while existing customers would be "reminded about it".

So, what porn-blocking services do the big-four ISPs offer?

Talktalk: Talktalk uses a system called Homesafe. The service is provided free to all customers and is built in to the Talktalk network. As well as offering protection against viruses, the service can also limit web access at certain times. The parental control options, called Kid Safe, can be used to block certain categories of websites - such as pornography. Settings on Homesafe will apply on any device that uses that broadband connection to go online.

BT: BT uses software provided by McAfee called BT NetProtect Plus. Blocking specific websites is done using BT Family Protection, which has options for blocking websites, setting time limits as well as YouTube filtering and social networking tools. The software is provided free for all BT Broadband customers.

Virgin: Developed by Bitdefender, Virgin Media Security has parental controls for blocking inappropriate content on the internet. It is included as part of the L, XL and XXL broadband packages and also in broadband bundles 2 and 3.

Sky Broadband: At present, Sky Broadband has a free trial of McAfee Internet Security Suite. It isn't yet clear what changes Sky will make to its existing offering.

To reiterate; there will be no actual changes to web-blocking and certainly none of the scare-stories that have been making the headlines this morning. The blocking will be entirely optional and can be done using parental controls already available.

This isn't web-filtering. This is an option for customers to use software that is already available. ISPs will ask all new customers if they want to enable these tools at sign-up.