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Compare says that if parents who want to block access to adult content can buy security software or a modem with parental controls, or they suggest most ISPs can advise a good software package or modem with these features.
The company says that of Australian ISPs, iiNet's BoB2 modem, for example, has a parental control function that allows parents to block certain websites, or block devices from connecting to the network at certain times of the day, while Optus offers a security suite service, which is free in the first month and $6.99 a month thereafter.
Compare Broadband spokesperson, Sarah Routledge, says the software to enable the blocking, can be installed on three computers and there are different browsing modes for different members of the family. 'For example, the family computer can be set to Small Child browsing, which is very restrictive, but teenagers can enter a password that allows broader access to the web.'
Compare also points out that BigPond offers a similar software solution through its BigPond security package, which costs $9.95 a month for 12 months (or $99.95 upfront for 12 months).
And, Routledge says that both Telstra and Optus also block access to an Interpol blacklist of sites containing child pornography, in conjunction with the Australian Federal Police, and that Vodafone has also confirmed it will be implementing the Interpol filter.
Compare Broadband points to the fact that the Australian Government proposal earlier this year, to block illegal websites to all Australian internet connections through a mandatory filter on ISPs has now been shelved, due to strong opposition to the legislation.
The limited filter was designed to be a stop-gap measure blocking the 'worst of the worst' on the web until the government revived its mandatory filter policy but other Australian ISPs are yet to implement the blacklist.
Compare says the federal government's policy raised issues of censorship and was criticised both at home and in overseas media, and, with the legislation unlikely to make it through both houses, the government had shelved its plans for a blanket ban on illegal and undesirable websites.
According to Routledge, "although a voluntary filter would not deal with the problem of illegal websites, it would give parents a very simple way of protecting their own children from the worst of the web.'
"It's interesting that 20% would still be against any form of filtering, this shows that feelings against censorship run deep here. Fortunately, there are easy ways for parents to stay in control of their children's internet browsing at home that do not require a filter at ISP level."
Meanwhile, by comparison, Compare highlights the fact that that a new initiative in the UK has seen the leading ISPs signing up to a code of conduct aimed at protecting children on the web, which includes offering parents a website blocking service at the provider level.
'In the UK, parents will have to decide whether they want the service when they set up their internet connection. If they do decide to use it, websites with adult content will be blocked to all devices on that connection,' Routledge says, but points out that filtering at ISP level is 'very difficult to circumvent and applies to all computers on a connection.'
