In recent past, a huge debate has ensued in UK over whether or not to regulate internet porn. Whereas privacy advocates and activists vehemently oppose it, citing that this may lead to different kinds of censorship, it seems that the UK government has plans of implementing an opt-in policy for internet porn.
One of the chief proponents who has been pushing for regulating internet porn in UK is a free counseling service for children – ChildLine. The charity organization has long been advocating that some kind of censorship must be put in place to hinder the young children from accessing online porn.
And now, it seems that the charity organization’s efforts may bear fruit soon. According to ChildLine founder Esther Rantzen, “I prize freedom of speech, and loathe censorship. Nonetheless, I am absolutely convinced to protect our children against the filthy tide of pornography on the Internet that threatens to engulf them.”
The new opt-in system would essentially require the ISPs to block a list of porn sites provided by the UK government. Users who wish to access these sites will have to explicitly express this by ‘applying’ for the access.
Rantzen stated that the UK government is on the verge of taking a decision on this issue. In a recent survey, 37 percent British users favoured a move towards an opt-in policy although privacy advocated remain highly critical of it.
According to a British privacy advocate, Big Brother Watch, “Ultimately the risk is that ISPs will be expected to monitor everything their customers do online to ensure they are not doing something they should not be.”
Source: Daily Mail
Thanks To: Daily Dot
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