Network level porn filter implemented by UK’s internet service providers as part of child internet safety campaign initiated by David Cameron have been blamed for a failing League of Legends update as the filters are apparently blocking a couple of files with the letter sequence ‘sex’ in their file names.
The two files in question are VarusExpirationTimer.luaobj and XerathMageChainsExtended.luaobj [sEx emphasis added] and according to Reddit user LoLBoompje, UK’s porn filter is to blame.
This resulted in game update failing with “file not found” errors. Such error messages are generally created by missing files or broken updates on the part of the developers. The user claims that the game’s patcher logs shows entries such as RADS::Common::HTTPConnection::GetFile: File not found and this error comes up when the update tries to get files similar to the two listed above with letter sequence ‘s-e-x’ in the file names.
The issue doesn’t seem to be wide spread as only new internet connection subscribers will have the option of opting for a porn filter. There is no official word from Riot Games as yet and chances are that the UK porn filters might not be the reason.
For users affected by the update failure, the only option left is to contact their internet service provider and get the internet filtering switched off or use the online support forms often present within the router and internet settings.
Riot Games told Eurogamer that no incident of the law affecting the game has been reported yet, but the studio is monitoring the situation. If any user runs into a problem, they can anytime contact LoL support for help.
“Our feedback to players is to double check with internet service providers and if anyone experiences a problem, get in touch and we will be able to help,” a Riot spokesperson said.
This is not the first instance when the porn filters have been under attack. Late last year in December, the filters came under fire for blocking access to legitimate sex education and abuse support sites.
[Editor’s Note: The image is just for illustration purpose only. We are not implicating Sky or any other ISP for the failure of the update]
