The only feasible way at the telco level here is TLS interception at some level, and with it being provided by the telco, there is no possible way to respect privacy since the telco will have 100% visibility into all traffic, encrypted or not. That'll be a lot of hardware and a lot of load, and require manual intervention/setup on each device - then the question comes down to filtering individual devices, because otherwise then you have to do TLS interception on the entire household, which would likely mean providing customized CPE that is doing it, instead.... and still requiring TLS interception. Often, carrier controlled CPE. Otherwise, you're back to individual endpoint control/software anyway.... -----Original Message----- From: Mel Beckman via NANOG <nanog@lists.nanog.org> Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2025 9:50 PM To: nanog@lists.nanog.org Cc: evabouchard38@gmail.com; nanog@lists.nanog.org; Mel Beckman <mel@beckman.org> Subject: Re: Feedback Request – Embedded Child Protection Solution for Telcos (Academic Research) I concur with Stipo. Parents must be 100% in control. Telco’s should have no control, access, or visibility to such policy enforcement. Your statement that your startup is developing “real-time, embedded child-protection software for telecom operators” by definition directly contravenes 100% parental control. I recommend that you redesign this project to eliminate all telco involvement. You could easily do this using VPN technology, but there are already many competitors in the residential VPN space with child protection features, so you would need to have some significant distinctive advantages to compete. -Mel Beckman
On Jun 24, 2025, at 6:40 PM, Stipo via NANOG <nanog@lists.nanog.org> wrote:
This policy enforcement should be done on endpoints/user devices. Not telco. Full stop.
On Tue, Jun 24, 2025 at 5:02 PM evabouchard38--- via NANOG < nanog@lists.nanog.org> wrote:
Hi all,
I'm part of a postgraduate team at Dublin City University working with Chirp, a startup developing real-time, embedded child-protection software for telecom operators. The solution analyzes data traffic on children’s devices to block harmful content and alert parents to risks such as grooming, cyberbullying, or self-harm — all while respecting privacy and working natively within telco infrastructure.
As part of our MSc practicum, we’re seeking feedback from telecom and network professionals on the commercial, technical, and regulatory feasibility of such an approach.
Would you be open to completing a short, 10-minute questionnaire?
🔗 https://dcusurveys.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8oBhWiZMRrUh1zM
We’d be very grateful for your insights. Happy to follow up with more technical or contextual details if helpful.
Thanks in advance for your time!
Best regards, Eva Bouchard _______________________________________________ NANOG mailing list
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