Phone firms ban access to shooting websites

Mobile networks are restricting access to Shooting Times on the assumption that it contains advice on bomb making.

By Will Finch

Monday, 07 February 2011

UK's biggest mobile network bars under-18s from shooting websites due to "inappropriate content".

Phone firms ban access to shooting websites.
A leading internet service provider has told Shooting Times magazine that its website is not suitable for under-18s as it has information on bomb making.

Orange, part of the UK’s biggest mobile phone operator, uses its Orange Safeguard system to restrict mobile access to www.shootingtimes.co.uk, meaning that readers who wish to view the site on their Orange mobile phone must first prove their age in an Orange shop.

A spokesman for Orange told Shooting Times: “Orange Safeguard is a mobile content filter that covers customer use of the mobile internet, to prevent anyone under the age of 18 years from accessing inappropriate content.”

When pressed as to what was “inappropriate” about www.shootingtimes.co.uk, the spokesman referred to Orange’s list of subjects unsuitable for children and said that the site fell into a category named “bombs”, containing information on how to prepare, make, build and use explosives and explosive devices.

Rival mobile operator T-Mobile also considers the website as unsuitable for under- 18s.

A spokesman said: “The content was blocked because of the nature of the magazine. There are some images linked to shooting and so it is deemed that people have to confirm their age before they are able to view it.”

Both companies said their choice of content follows the guidelines of the Independent Mobile Classification Body (IMCB).

When Shooting Times contacted the IMCB, a spokesman said: “The idea of our framework is to ensure that content is classified age-appropriately and that material that is not suitable for children is not available to them. We have not been approached by any network in relation to this particular website.”