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Defra blocks Facebook, DoH bans eBay

Government departments have published their policies on staff access to specific websites

  • GC News
  • Kable, Friday 29 January 2010 00.05 GMT

According to a parliamentary written answer from minister Dan Norris, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs usually blocks websites for IT security reasons or if they contain explicit content.

A spokesperson told GC News: "Access to Facebook has been blocked to protect the network capacity available for business use."

The Department of Health revealed it had banned the online auction site eBay. A spokesperson said: "The use of IT facilities must not risk bringing the department into disrepute or placing it in a position of liability.

"As part of this, on-line gambling, operating a personal or freelance business, selling items on internet auction sites (ie eBay), or participating in political activities is not permitted."

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has banned a dirty jokes site and a site concerned with an overseas lottery, as well as others "deemed unsuitable".

Conservative MP Grant Shapps asked a number of departments through parliamentary written answers for a list of online sites they have restricted, but the majority declined to give specific names for security purposes.

The Department of Health was among several departments which bars access to categories of sites, including those concerned with gambling, illegal activities, tasteless or adult content, violence, weapons, racism, fraudulent activities and audio downloads.


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  • AdrianMoss

    29 Jan 2010, 1:05PM

    Mixed messages continue to be churned out from Government regarding use of social media and networking sites. We recently saw the launch of Data.gov.uk; the public beta site acting as an online point of access for government-held non-personal data, which indicates an urge to move delivery of information and communication with the public to an online premise. Usage of non-work related sites should indeed be blocked, however, social networking sites, although bandwidth-hungry, are complementary to the Government?s shift to online presence.

    Social networking sites allow the sharing of conversation, engagement of audiences far and wide and in many cases, is an economic way to deliver messages to the masses. If the Government really is hoping to embrace its ?e-transformational agenda?, then access to these kinds of sites need to incorporated, be it on a regulated basis to free up Internet connection.

    A structured ?acceptable usage? policy can determine who uses sites, when and how, thus giving chance for authorised employees to gauge community perception and react quicker to conversations in the public domain.

    Adrian Moss, head of web 2.0 at Parity

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