(New Zealand) Internet providers hit out at website blocker

A controversial internet filter which blocks access to hundreds of websites on a secret Internal Affairs blacklist has gone live.

The "child exploitation" system was introduced last month in a bid to stop online paedophile activity.

But it has come under fire from internet service providers for being ineffectual and giving hackers an easy target.

A similar filter system caused a storm of protest when it was introduced in Britain last year. Authorities promised it would be used only to block child abuse websites, but politicians later tried to use the technology to stop users accessing file-sharing sites.