Ambiguously-worded and vague laws have caused a lot of trouble in many countries throughout history.

Legislation that uses vague and imprecise language can become a powerful and dangerous tool in the wrong hands when it’s twisted to punish innocent people.

One example of a law twisted beyond its original purpose was the United States’ Comstock Act of 1873, which prohibited the sending any “article of an immoral nature” through the mail. In effect, the law was used to prosecute anyone who distributed contraceptives, or any information about family planning whatsoever.

During World War I, while British and German soldiers were given condoms by their governments, American soldiers were advised to practice abstinence instead, since the distribution of condoms was banned. Unsurprisingly, within two years, hundreds of thousands of American soldiers were diagnosed with an STD, costing the United States over $50 million to treat them.

Today, there are many more examples of ambiguous laws that have been twisted to prosecute all kinds of innocuous actions.

That’s partly thanks to modern technology developing at an exponential rate. Judges must decide in the courtroom how to apply outdated laws to completely novel situations, as the slow-moving machine of legislation struggles to keep up with the changing times.

Unfortunately, that means that sometimes they err on the side of caution when they don’t completely understand the technology behind the circumstances.

Today, Britain is making a similar mistake to the one the United States made a century ago by passing the Comstock Act. Ostensibly trying to protect their citizens, they’re banning Websites with content related to equal rights, controversial political opinions, and even information about sexual health.

We’ve already seen the possible consequences of blocking vital information like this, yet we’re still making the same mistakes 100 years later.

Check out the list below of websites banned in Britain. What exactly are you being “protected” from?

Transcript of above graphic: 10 Websites Britain Blocked

Nearly one in five of the most visited websites on the web were Blocked by the adult content filters installed on Britain’s broadband and mobile networks, according to the Open Rights Group, and not because they were featuring porn. Instead, the wide umbrella of filters blocks anything considered “potentially harmful.”

Here are 10 websites that British content filters blocked for having “adult content” that shouldn’t have been censored.

1. Jezebel

   Dedicated to women’s interests, Jezebel’s tagline is “Celebrity, Sex, Fashion for Women. Without Airbrushing.”

   • Jezebel is one of several blogs owned by Gawker Media.
   • • Gawker Media also owns:
     • • Gawker.com
       • Deadspin
       • Lifehacker
       • Gizmodo
       • io9
       • Kotaku
       • Jalopnik

2. Guido Fawkes

   A British political blog whose slogan is “tittle tattle, gossip and rumours about Westminster’s Mother of Parliaments written from the perspective of the only man to enter parliament with honest intentions. The intention being to blow it up with gunpowder…”

   • Guido Fawkes is run by editor Paul Staines
   • In 2007, The Telegraph described the blog as “one of Britain’s leading political blogsites.”
   • When he found out the blog was censored in the UK, Paul Staines is reported to have said, “We would really appreciate it if TalkTalk would remove us from their block list. The only people who block us are them and the Chinese government.”

3. sherights.com

   A feminist website, sherights.com focuses on issues related to women’s rights.

   • Their mantra is “women’s rights are human rights. When they are abused, disrespected or ignored, society as a whole is affected. Not just us women folk.”
   • Maureen Shaw founded sherights.com in 2011
   • In 2014, sherights.com was nominated for Best in Show by WEGO Health, a healthcare advocacy social network, for their work on women’s health issues.
   • The website covers everything from abortions rights in the media to sexual violence in conflict to feminism on the Internet to sex and sexuality.
   • On finding out sherights was blocked, Maureen Shaw had this to say: “We are concerned with the message that blocking our site sends: that pro-woman, pro-equality, pro-human rights subject matter is somehow offensive, inappropriate or otherwise problematic.”

4. Philip Raby Porsche Dealership

   Philip Raby operates a Porsche brokerage and consulting firm in West Sussex, England.

   • Raby didn’t realize his website had been blocked by O2 (an ISP provider in the UK) until his customers pointed it out to him.
   • Once he found out his site had been blocked, he told The Guardian “We must have lost some business as a result. It doesn’t look great telling people the site is not suitable for under 18s!”

5. From Homs to Istanbul

   From Homs to Istanbul is the blog and journal of Aboud Dandachi, a Syrian from the city of Homs.

   • Between February 2012 and September 2013, Dandachi moved three times because of artillery and tank assaults, as well as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons on Damascan neighborhoods.
   • Dandachi’s opinions on issues in Syria have appeared in numerous outlets, including:
   • • BBC
     • NPR
     • The Guardian
     • The LA Times
   • Dandachi is the author of an e-book titled, “The Doctor, the Eye Doctor and Me: Analogies and Parallels Between the World of Doctor Who and the Syrian Conflict”.

6. TorrentFreak

   TorrentFreak is a website that brings the latest news about file sharing, copyright, privacy, torrent search engines, and protocol technologies.

   • Lennart Renkema, who goes by the pseudonym “Ernesto Van Der Sar,” founded TorrentFreak in 2005.
   • In May 2014, TorrentFreak was 88th on Technorati’s top 100 blogs.
   • TorrentFreak has been featured on CNN, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, the BBC, the Guardian, and the LA Times.

7. Bish

   A sexual health information website for everyone, but especially young people 14 and up.

   • Justin Hancock, founder of Bish, has been a youth worker for 16 years.
   • Bish reached its first million views in November 2012, its second million in December 2013, and its third million in July 2013.
   • The website focuses on giving honest and open information about sexual health to teenagers, and includes such topics as:
   • • Porn
     • Masturbation
     • Relationships
     • Intimacy
   • Bish also has resources for parents, carers, and educators.
   • Justin has a book out called The Bish Book: A real and relevant guide to sex, relationships and you.

8. Edinburgh Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre

   This is the website of the Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland.

   • They offer a number of services to women, all members of the transgender community, and young survivors aged 12 and over who have experienced sexual violence from male or female abusers at any time in their lives, including:
   • • Free and confidential emotional and practical support
     • Information
     • Advocacy
   • EWRSAC has operated for 35 years.
   • Based in Edinburgh, they also have an outreach service: East Lothian Sexual Abuse Service (ELSAS).

9. Sexual Health Scotland

   Sexual Health Scotland offers sex education information.

   • Users can enter their postcode to find a sexual health centre near them.
   • The website covers topics such as:
   • • Sex and relationships
     • Talking about sex
     • Contraception
     • Pregnancy
     • Clinics
     • Getting help
   • Readers can also find information on:
   • • STIs
     • Types of sex
     • Sex and the law
     • The risks of sex

10. Reducing the Risk of Domestic Abuse

    • This website provides users with information what domestic abuse is, and how to get help, whether you’re being abused or think you might be an abuser.
    • The website provides phone numbers for a variety of organizations, including:
    • • Victim Support
      • Kiran Asian Women’s Aid
      • Men’s Advice Line
      • Broken Rainbow (LGBT)
      • Elder Abuse
      • Childline

Why were these sites blocked?

• The UK’s Prime minister, David Cameron, spearheaded the latest push by his country’s broadband companies to introduce adult content blocks on the nation’s web.
• The blocks are designed to filter out pornography, suicide and self-harm related content, weapons and violence, gambling, drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.
• As a result, the filters censored other sites that shouldn’t have been.

Most people can agree that children shouldn’t have access to information and content intended for adults, but a significant number of websites have been blocked that either have nothing to do with “adult content,” or aren’t pornographic in nature.

The UK government is looking at sites that were wrongfully blocked and has asked ISP providers to resolve the situation.

“Censorship ends in logical completeness when nobody is allowed to read any books except the books that nobody reads.” — George Bernard Shaw

Sources

• Internet Filters Blocking One in Five Most-Popular Websites – theguardian.com
• Org’s Blocked Project Finds Almost 1 in 5 Sites Are Blocked by Filters – openrightsgroup.com
• Jezebel – jezebel.com
• Search and Destroy – newyorker.com
• I’m Anna Holmes, Founder of Jezebel, and This Is How I Work – lifehacker.com
• Guido Fawkes’ Blog – order-order.com
• Focus on Labour Website in Peerage Row – telegraph.co.uk
• sherights. – sherights.com
• UK ‘Porn Filters’ Block One Fifth Of All Websites – forbes.com
• WEGO Health Activist Awards – awards.wegohealth.com
• Inspiring Agitation: Maureen Shaw and Lindsay Menard-Freeman – thewomentakeover.com
• A Fifth of All Websites Blocked by Web Filters – wired.co.uk
• Philip Raby Porsche – philipraby.co.uk
• Internet Filters Blocking One in Five Most-Popular Websites – theguardian.com
• From Homs to Istanbul – dandachi.com
• UK Government Tackles Wrongly-Blocked Websites – bbc.com
• About TorrentFreak – torrentfreak.com
• Final Project Interview #2: Ernesto of TorrentFreak.com – uscpwned.blogspot.com
• Pirate Bay Decides to Join the Navy – ecommercetimes.com
• Here’s Technorati’s Final List of Top Blogs before It Disappeared – seocial.com
• Sex, Relationships and You – bishuk.com
• Justin Hancock – about.me
• The Bish Book – bishtraining.com
• Edinburgh Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre – ewrasac.org.uk
• Sexual Health Scotland – sexualhealthscotland.co.uk
• Reducing the Risk of Domestic Abusereducingtherisk.org.uk
• Porn Filters Block Sex Education Websitesbbc.com
• Sky Updates Porn Filter after Row over Blocking – bbc.com
• George Bernard Shaw – brainyquote.com

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