Lets say that it is so - Is there a way to stop messaging back to the device from the gateway?
It concerns me that even if you wanted to, one cannot stop a “signalling message” back to a device, even if it is as basic as the device being able to connect or not.
if that concerns you set up your own private LoRaWAN network
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It’s a valid question, and there has been a lot of discussion about this some months ago (look for ‘governance’ threads). TTN gateway operators could legally be regarded as network operators and be held liable for several forms of abuse. Mind the word could, because currently we are operating in a gray zone. One benefit TTN has in regard to other crowdsourced networks such as Freifunk is that LoraWAN uses end-to-end encryption. As a gateway operator you cannot know what the traffic flowing over your gateway contains, so you could plead plausible deniability.
I wouldn’t worry too much about it right now. I’m pretty sure we’ll see appropriate legislation pop up in the aftermath of LPWAN becoming established.
This is actually a very important legal issue for all TTN gateway operators.
I answered this question ’ Is there a way to stop messaging back to the device from the gateway? ’
https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/forum/t/data-ownership-and-governance/80
The answer to this question depends to an extent what country you are operating in.
Most countries have ‘common carrier’ status for ISP’s.
So the person who provides your internet service, or phone line is not responsible for what you put on Facebook or say to your friend.
Thanks guys.
Idealy, a setting in the backend would control this pehaps - to only allow one-way incoming traffic to my gateway from sensors.
At the moment, I don’t want devices being remotely controlled through my gateway. Can the “Thethingsnetwork” concept cater for someone like me? - Happy to freely host for inbound, but not for outbound.
I’m thinking that if I have to use a private network, then to make sure there is only inbound, I have to cut off everyone else from using my gateway which is not what I want. However, to prevent “denial of connection” messaging being sent back to the device, perhaps there is no option other than a closed private network 
Afraid someone will set off a bomb or something? 
You could block incoming traffic from the TTN router, but then your gateway wouldn’t comply anymore and won’t be able to do OTAA, which is kinda a basic necessity for a LoRaWAN network.
I have no definitive answer but did hear a couple of things relating to UK legislation.
One was that if you have over 10,000 users then you are considered a provider with all the overhead that it brings. I haven’t found a good reference for that claim, maybe it’s in the link above.
Second was that the provider may not be responsible for the content, but does need to be able to point to the registered user, who should have been properly screened and ID’d when they signed up. That would be a TTN account issue, not a gateway ownership issue.
On the London Catapult network they added a 2-stage authentication for exactly this reason.
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