09 Oct 1996
Internet Service Providers told police last month they could not meet official demands to monitor material on the Net.
Despite threats of prosecution, the ISPs insisted they simply didn't have the technical capacity to monitor material.
The Metropolitan Police has asked service providers to filter all material published on the Net. In theory it could turn a polite request into a demand. Chief Inspector Stephen French, of the Clubs and Vice Unit of the force, said: "The Obscene Publications Act is about publishing for gain, and we could prosecute them."
Sally Weatherall, legal officer at the Internet Service Providers Association, said: "ISPA will take action reactively, but its members cannot proactively filter content. It's not technically possible."
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