Gwynedd PCs filter out The Sun website

PEOPLE are banned from looking at the Sun newspaper’s website on a council’s computers.

Those using libraries in Gwynedd or local authority PCs cannot access the site because anything that promotes “aggressiuve, offensive, violent or sexual content” is off limits.

The ban comes amid growing calls for the paper to be boycotted because of its false reporting of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster in which 96 Liverpool fans died, and the more recent racism allegations over a column by its former editor Kelvin MacKenzie about Everton FC player Ross Barkley.

But Gwynedd council insists it is not a policy decision, saying it is in place because the tabloid is listed as an “adult site” by its cyber-security software watchdogs.

However, opposition figures said they thought the banning of a news outlet on computers paid for and accessed by the public set a dangerous precedent.

Alyn Gruffyd, county councillor for Tremadog, said: “I would not buy the paper myself but it is up to others to decide what they want to read.

“I’m worried that this does create a precedent – what else do they want to ban?”

Gwynedd council found itself in the glare of The Sun’s ridicule in recent weeks, when mistranslated signs in Bangor offered Welsh speakers 12 hours of parking for £4 while the signs in English only allowed eight hours.

The council yesterday insisted the move was to prevent children and “vulnerable adults” from being exposed to “inappropriate material”.

A spokesperson said: “Gwynedd council uses recognised technology provided by a specialist company to prevent members of the public, including children and vulnerable adults, from being exposed to inappropriate images and content while using computers and wi-fi facilities in council buildings, including public libraries.

“This technology filters offensive, degrading, sexual and violent images and content.

“‘Adult sites’ is currently one of the categories designated for TheSun.co.uk by the web filtering service used by the council, and it is for this reason that the site is inaccessible to internet users on the authority’s devices. No policy decision has been made by the council to block The Sun website.”

Other North Wales councils were contacted to see if they, too, ban newspaper websites.