What I would describe as curious and worrisome news out of the UK is circulating the blogosphere these days. That is because the UK government is considering a new internet model where websites would be rated (similar to how movies are already), and those which contain offensive or otherwise inappropriate material would not be shown. In other-words: censorship. I firmly believe that if no laws are being broken, that the internet should remain a free place for information to be shared.

Now that’s not to say the UK government has bad intentions, in fact, quite the opposite. They are clearly trying to protect minors from unwelcome and non-age appropriate material. However, in my opinion, the internet is not for kids, but rather adults. It should be up to the parents of web-using minors to police what their children do online, and install the necessary safeguards in order to protect them from dangerous websites. Or, you know, they could tell their children to go outside and play.

As for teenagers, somehow I think there are a lot more dangerous places for them to be hanging out than the internet. Rather than censoring everyone, why don’t we go back to teaching our kids common sense, and responsibility?