LONDON—Sky Broadband, the U.K.-based internet-service provider, has begun blocking adult content from all its new customers by default.
So if a user goes to a restricted website, they will be asked to change their filter settings or turn off the filter altogether. Sky's announcement does not specify what filters will be used to determine whether a site is "inappropriate," according to Wired U.K.
Sky has been testing default blocks on adult websites since 2015, Wired reported. The company also confirmed that while the "Auto On" shield currently only applies to new customers, it will be extended to existing users in the coming months.
"We will be contacting millions more Sky Broadband customers who haven't yet made a decision about Sky Broadband Shield," Lyssa McGowan, brand director of communications, told Wired U.K. "If they don't respond, we will switch it on for them and invite them to amend or switch it off themselves."
Sky is among the first major ISPs in the U.K. to enact parts of the Digital Economy Bill which will push for age verification on all adult websites, Wired reported.
