22 Jul 2013

Cameron’s porn opt-in: your reactions

Porn will be blocked by default on all UK internet connections, David Cameron has announced. British people will have to ask their internet provider to see it. Here are some reactions.

Lawyers and civil rights groups criticised David Cameron’s decision to block porn by default from everyone in the UK. But parents and children’s charities have defended it.

British people who want to view legal porn of any sort will have to “opt in” to it by contacting their internet service provider and asking for it, Mr Cameron announced.

The measure accompanied a new policy on criminal images online. Mr Cameron said that he was increasing efforts to delete criminal images and videos showing child abuse, rape and other acts of violent sex, classified as “extreme pornography”. The crackdown on criminal activity has been broadly welcomed but the blanket ban on legal porn has its critics.

It is going to be hard practically to implement a blanket pan on legal porn, said Jim Killock, chief executive of the Open Rights Group.

‘Very annoying’

“If people end up with filters that they don’t need or want because they don’t have children in the house, then the likelihood is that they will find this very annoying. They will get fed up with it, they may have difficulties switching it off and it will incentivise websites to find ways to get their customers to their websites while getting them round filtering.”

Mr Killock also said that it was misleading for David Cameron to suggest that porn could be switched off with one button. And he added that a comprehensive child-safe filter would also mean that alcohol and gambling-related content and material depicting extreme political views would be banned by default.

Myles Jackman, a lawyer for Hodge Jones Allen, said that the default ban set a bad precedent: “It does seem that this is a thin edge of the wedge argument. In other words pornography is always the canary in the coalmine. When it comes to censorship and civil liberties, it’s the first thing to die.”

However the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, was among several voices welcoming the default block on pornography.

‘Big step forward’

Peter Wanless, CEO of the NSPCC said: “These measures are a big step forward in taking firm action to block legal adult pornography from young eyes. This isn’t about censorship or restricting freedom, it’s simply about protecting children whilst allowing adults to do as they choose within the law.

“Young minds are not developed enough to make grown-up decisions about these issues. From calls to ChildLine and focus groups we have undertaken, we know many young people are regularly coming across hardcore pornography on the internet and it is corrupting their views on sex and relationships.”

And here are reactions from some of our Twitter followers. Several brought up the issue of just what would be put behind the default block and who would decide it:

Others were envisaging the scenes in the ISP call centres:

Some agreed with the restrictions:

One man had taken his own measures to customise the internet: