LONDON — An extension for Google Chrome called “Go Away Cameron” — one that will work anywhere and with any websites that are blocked by firewall, universities, workplaces and nanny filters — has surfaced.
The bypass was created by a developer to circumvent the U.K.’s new opt-out parental control filters and allows users an automated a private and smart proxy service to route access around eventual censorship.
The extension, available at GoAwayCameron.co.uk, hopes to undermine Prime Minister David Cameron’s plan for a controlled Internet, according to its creator, Singapore-based computer science graduate @nubela.
It is easy to install, and only requires a login to bypass blocked websites.
The U.K.’s major ISPs began rolling out new porn filters at the behest of the government in recent months, asking users to opt out if they do not want explicit webpages automatically blocked.
@nubela said he had three reason for making the extension.
“One, It was a holiday project as I was learning Twitter bootstrap,” he said. “Two, I enjoy my Internet freedom, and urge all of you to never give that up, let alone to any government agencies. Three, I did have some blind hopes for it going viral.”
I love the idea but I’d be careful about the app. Could be malware, virus or some other ugly surprise planted as bait.
There is a tendency among some young people to seek technical fixes for political problems. In my experience things rarely work that way.