An IT error gave primary school children in Edinburgh access to porn

Primary school pupils in Edinburgh were able to access pornography and videos of executions in public libraries due to a computer glitch.

Filters designed to block inappropriate websites are not activated on PCs accessed with children’s library cards.

The City of Edinburgh Council believed the problem had been resolved earlier this month – until it was discovered that the revised safety measures could also be easily circumvented.

All public computers in the city libraries were taken offline again until the problem could be resolved with the municipality’s IT partner, the Canadian company CGI.

The local authority said it believed access to PCs had now been restored.

Younger students are sometimes taken to libraries to use computers during the school day.

The desktop PCs can also be reserved and used by members of the public if they have a valid library card.

The intention is to filter content based on age to prevent access to inappropriate material.

After hearing that students had seen inappropriate material, one parent tested the filters while logged into a child-only library computer with a child card.

They found that websites, including PornHub, were visible to children.

Photos obtained by BBC Scotland showed they also accessed another site with videos of Saddam Hussein’s execution and the public shooting of a woman outside a stadium in Afghanistan in 1999.

The school reported the breach to CGI and the municipality, which took the computers in its libraries offline for seven days.

Access was restored on October 3, but the parent then discovered that the same websites could still be viewed using a child’s login after the ‘safe search’ option was disabled in the settings.

The computers were taken offline again and A4 size notices were stuck to the screens stating that they were “currently experiencing technical difficulties”.

At one school, school-issued iPads were taken from students to test whether they were also susceptible to the error.

It was discovered that websites, including Wikipedia, that were not blocked by the filter may have contained inappropriate images and images seen by children.

In an email, the council said the devices had now been returned to students after “no evidence of inappropriate material” was found.

However, the parent told BBC Scotland News that they felt “fobbed off” by the local authority – and that other parents had not been informed of the breach.

The parent accused the municipality and CGI of failing to protect children from explicit content.

The company distributed 44,000 iPads to students and educators as part of an 18-month rollout ending in May 2023.

A spokeswoman for the City of Edinburgh Council said it was ‘reviewing’ safety measures.

Culture and Communities Covenant Cllr Val Walker said: “After receiving a complaint from a service user, the council immediately suspended access to online services in Edinburgh’s libraries to review access rights.

“Access has now been restored and we continue to work with our digital partners to assess how this happened and ensure safe access for all users.”

CGI did not respond to requests for comment when contacted by BBC Scotland News.