PinkNews Exclusive: Hours after leading internet provider TalkTalk apologised for blocking an LGBT charity’s website, it has emerged that the company’s porn filter is also blocking the Liberal Democrat’s official LGBT+ group’s website.
The website is hosted on a subdomain of the Liberal Democrat’s website at http://lgbt.libdems.org.uk. YouTube user John Fraser has posted a video showing the website being blocked while connected to his TalkTalk broadband.
An article about Nick Clegg’s columns for PinkNews has been blocked
Among the content blocked is a feature about Nick Clegg’s most recent article for PinkNews.
Adrian Trett, Chair LGBT+ Lib Dems, told PinkNews.co.uk: “That the blocking of our own website shows that The “Great Firewall of Britain” is turning out to be the disaster many of us warned it would be. Reports are rife that these filters don’t block lots of porn, but do block legitimate support and health sites. As it turns out, it is also blocking our own political website, which has absolutely no content of this nature and therefore as feared. LGBT resources are targeted disproportionately, then ISPs are probably exposing themselves to legal challenge under the Equality Act too as well as possible criminal liability for blocking a political web site during an election period.”
He added: “It is completely unacceptable and it is why at Liberal Democrat Conference in Glasgow, LGBT+ along with other interested parties referenced back any motion with regards filters because we knew the LGBT+ community would be disproportionately affected by these actions.”
Conservative Vice Chairman Michael Fabricant joked toPinkNews.co.uk “I can think of many reasons why I would like to block the Liberal Democrats, but I never guessed that hosting porn on their website might be one of them!”
Sexual speech IS political speech. You can’t censor one form without eventually censoring others.