New ‘Jesus-centric’ Christian phone network to block adult and LGBT content

“An environment that is Jesus-centric, void of pornography, void of LGBT, void of trans."

Set to launch today (Tuesday, May 5), the service will also restrict access to pornography and LGBT-related material. It is believed to be the first network of its kind.

Radiant Mobile's service will use Israeli cybersecurity firm Allot to help organise website domains into over 100 categories, and will block pornographic material at a network level so users cannot undo the restriction.

In addition, Radiant is also said to offer the option of blocking material relating to gender and trans issues.

“We are going to create—and we think we have every right to do so—an environment that is Jesus-centric, that is void of pornography, void of LGBT, void of trans,” Radiant Mobile founder Paul Fisher, formerly an agent representing supermodels such as Naomi Campbell, told MIT Technology Review.

Fisher also previously hosted a TV show in which he aimed to recruit people from rehab centres and homeless shelters into modelling.

He says the phone network can even block specific sections of a website related to LGBT issues. For example, while yale.edu would remain accessible, lgbt.yale.edu would be restricted.

Like Trump Mobile and CREDO Mobile, which channel funds to aligned causes, Radiant is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). This means it does not own its own cell towers but instead leases network capacity from larger providers, in this case, T-Mobile.

A representative for T-Mobile declined to say whether such content restrictions would breach its policies, but told the tech publication that it has no direct relationship with Radiant and instead works with the company through MVNO manager CompaxDigital.

Radiant has recruited several Christian influencers to promote the initiative and has established relationships with thousands of churches across the US, in hopes of having part of their congregants’ $30-per-month Radiant subscription donated to their church.

Beyond the United States, Fisher hopes to expand into markets with large Christian populations, such as Mexico and South Korea.

According to Chris Klimis, an Orlando-based minister and Radiant's chief operating officer, he accepted the company's advances because he wanted to “do something” about what he regards as a pornography crisis pervading Christianity.

“We’ve got to figure out some way to close the door to the digital space,” Klimis said. “That’s what we’re trying to do.”

Allot’s services are also designed to block content related to violence, self-harm, malware, gaming, and “sects,” including websites associated with Satanism.

So, if users try to visit a website in a blocked category, the page simply will not load. Similar services use workarounds to prevent access to restricted content. For example, Covenant Eyes, a porn-blocking and accountability app, sends notifications to a user’s designated family members or friends if they attempt to bypass restrictions.

Radiant’s launch comes amid the Trump administration’s sustained support for evangelical Christianity and its continued opposition to transgender rights.