Virgin Media

Virgin Media is a provider of telephone, television and internet services in the UK. They operate services using both BT's infrastructure (both LLU and non-LLU) and their own cable network.

• Virgin Broadband
• Virgin Mobile (a virtual network on Everything Everywhere, switching to Vodafone from 2022)
• London Underground Wifi

Purchased by American cable company Liberty Global for £15bn in February 2013. Other European ISPs operated by Liberty Global usually use the "UPC" branding.

Virgin Media refused to sign the Broadband Stakeholder Group's voluntary Open Internet Code of Practice regarding net neutrality releasing the following statement:

"We had tried to encourage something that would be clearer for industry and give consumers improved transparency. However, these principles remain open to misinterpretation and potential exploitation so, while we welcome efforts to reach a broad consensus to address potential future issues, we will be seeking greater certainty before we consider signing."

However they also said that "We have no intention of discriminating or treating data differently on the basis of who owns or publishes it".

Network filtering

As with the other large ISPs, Virgin blocks sites listed by the IWF and those subject to court orders. From 2006 to 2012 the system deployed for IWF blocking was known as Web Blocker. A replacement system, Web Blocker 2 for implementing both IWF and court-ordered blocks was obtained for "a six figure sum" in 2011 with ongoing support costing a "five figure sum" annually. Web Blocker 3 is referred to in 2021 court orders.

Virgin Media Web Safe, a DNS-based parental control feature based on Nominum, was launched in February 2014.

As mentioned in a 2023 court order Virgin Media has the capability to block access to specific IP addresses if ordered ('blackholing').

• List of sites blocked by Virgin due to court orders, 2014-04-04

Data Protection

• Data Protection Register Z9713406