Any thoughts on the porn ban?

Can we back up a second, did someone say the government are working with the company that owns multiple porn sites?

It's a poorly thought out idea which will do little to stop the proliferation of "bad" porn but will result hurt small/ "good" porn makers
And probably loads of other content as unexpected consequence

I think it's indicative of a much wider problem - you know, that whole thing about no one wanting to listen to experts which has led to a government making policy based on what makes their target voters happy rather than what is actually evidenced and effective.

Indeed. Although I'd add...

making policy based on what makes their target voters happy, doesn't cost much and what it does cost is directed towards unprincipled businesses...

!!

We need less elitist old white male career politicians in government and more young people of every persuasion, colour, gender and background.
We might get a government that vaguely understands the modern world then.

Actual, proper, evidenced and skilled child protection has all but disappeared in this country.

I think it's indicative of a much wider problem - you know, that whole thing about no one wanting to listen to experts which has led to a government making policy based on what makes their target voters happy rather than what is actually evidenced and effective.

MonkeyToesOfDoom That is shocking! Both the actions of the NSPCC in carrying out such a dreadful piece of 'research' and the government in accepting it.

There is clearly a problem, but it's one that, for some reason, many people seem reluctant to accept the only workable solution - that parents need to restrict and monitor internet usage and talk to their children. Instead we get this constant instance that there is a simple technical solution despite technical people saying there isn't.

On another thread about this, a poster likened it to someone constantly asking for a unicorn despite being told they don't exist - it really is like that.

MonkeyToesOfDoom

Why am I not even surprised at the "evidence base" for this? Why am I not even surprised the government is this credulous? Why am I not even surprised NSPCC is involved?

Actual, proper, evidenced and skilled child protection has all but disappeared in this country.

SaskiaRembrandt

The original report the NSPCC used was done by OnePoll.
To register on OnePoll you have to be 18+ I believe.
The report the NSPCC used started by asking the registered user to get a child to answer...

This ridiculous ban is not based on any accurate information at all, it's based on knee jerk reactions to over inflated headlines based on adults entering any info to an online survey to earn 20p

But, that doesn't change the fact children shouldn't be watching porn. The parents should be better educated to get parental controls in place and to teach the children that porn isn't real sex etc.

But.. and I'm not sure if this has been mentioned.. but the government is basing all of this on a report by NSPCC... That report by he NSPCC was based on the results of an online survey about children. It did nothing to ensure children were answering, it only asked 11 questions and it paid the responders.

I remember there was a thread on MN when the report was released, but I had no idea it was based on such flimsy evidence. It's actually quite disgraceful that such a botched piece of legislation could be passed based on what may or may not be genuine responses. it really is a knee-jerk attempt by the government to look as though they are doing something, when in reality they are doing worse than nothing.

My fear is it will seep onto ‘maintstream’ sites like YouTube and be stumbled upon by more children that would have sought it out.

I don’t like being dictated to as an adult. I don’t trust this government, they have no idea what they are doing about anything.

Much as I would like tighter controls on access, and for children to be completely unable to access anything pornographic, I fear this is going to just be a massive fuck up that will do more harm than good.

The ones who use tech as a free babysitter are not going to be so responsible, either through fecklessness and/or the stresses of their lives.

That's a good point! There are those people, and I don't know what can be done about them - maybe a move to it being socially unacceptable, in the same way it would be to get children to sleep by giving them gin?

Saying that, I also know of parents who don't have the 'excuse' of stress who have a very naive approach towards their childrens' tech use too.

BorneBackCeaselesslyIntoThePas the age verification is being done by the industry. One of the systems will AgeID which was developed by MindGeek who also own some of the biggest porn sites.

BorneBack

See now I read it that a visitor to the site would end up on a landing page that has no adult content, only after age verification would the site let you go past the landing page.

But.. and I'm not sure if this has been mentioned.. but the government is basing all of this on a report by NSPCC... That report by he NSPCC was based on the results of an online survey about children. It did nothing to ensure children were answering, it only asked 11 questions and it paid the responders.

So you know all the times people on MN have been short a few quid and someone days, "have you tried some surveys?", They're the people that have answered the survey, not kids, they have answered the short survey to earm 20p or whatever.

It makes the whole dang thing based in shit evidence procured by wankers. #thewholedangthingisbasedonshitevidenceprocuredbywankers

Only the main porn sites will be targeted and blocked if they don't comply...that leaves the even more dangerous porn sites the ones easiest to access.

One small point - those people out there reading this who want to answer my genuine questions and concerns with the word yawn... I think you are pathetic. Could you ignore my posts in future?

I think it's pathetic to argue that people who are explaining in reasonable terms why blocks will not work 'don't want any restrictions to be put in place.' I have seen this argument trotted out on MN every single time this subject arises, always by someone who refuses to 'believe that nothing at all can be done'. So yes, I will yawn, because it's boring and pointless.

I agree with all that's being said- especially about the type of porn being viewed more likely to be even more extreme than what is viewed now. It's simply a matter of time before primary school kids find out about vpn's and use them to get around blocks. My children knew how to circumvent school IT security by y8 (age 12-13) This sort of knowledge travels down the ages very fast.

The only way to sort this issue is if all countries agreed to ban it but that will never happen.

MonkeyToesOfDoom (great username btw)

For every site willing to adopt these measures

I don’t think anything is being done by the sites, all the filtering is being done by your isp via changes to dns that will redirect a request to {site}.com to an age verification page

I agree with pp saying it's actually going to make the situation much worse. Because its 'normal' porn that will be the most difficult to access. It wont make a difference to illegal or extreme pornography. So then you will have complacent parents think, great my child cant access porn I dont need to worry.... and of course it's going to make no difference to the fact kids hit puberty earlier and are interested in sex earlier... that society sexualises absolutely everything to make money... that kids will still have access to the internet in general and will make their own content that they can send to each other via encrypted messaging services... leaving them at greater risk than before...

Theres just no easy solution... its political pandering to pearl clutchers for votes...
Theres no shortcut to actual decent parenting... to facing the facts that you need to talk about sexuality and pornography with your children at a much younger age than you might have expected.. and to talk openly and honestly and for it to be an ongoing discussion... and to keep an eye on your childs general internet usage...

I think it's ridiculous because it will lead young teens to install VPNs and get tor... then they will be on the dark web where there are absolutely no filters and they can access anything from bestiality to child porn.

It's just a ploy to collect the data of adults. It's not actually going to protect the children it's supposed to protect.

HorsewithnoFrills

The thing with CP is there aren't many big named porn sites that will host it.

Eg, the company tasked with age verification in the UK is MindGeek. MindGeek will collect credit card details or passport numbers etc. MindGeek own Porn hub, Red Tube, youporn. They're a business and know CP would damage them and they're standing with UK gov and ultimately cost them money.

So once restrictions are in place for the business websites that won't host CP, that will leave websites that aren't bothered abut profit, that will host whatever and they'll all refuse new restrictions.

Ultimately, kids looking for porn won't see the curated business and for profit sites as they've got restrictions, they will see uncurated and illegal content, which could include cp, and is hosted by whoever with no age restriction barrier.

FWIW if there were a way to ban it outright with severe consequences for anyone caught viewing it I'd be totally on board...

Me too.

Can children easily access child pornography?

I (perhaps naively) thought that CP was very hard to view because well, restrictions.

If so, can't something similar be done with mainstream porn?

One small point - those people out there reading this who want to answer my genuine questions and concerns with the word yawn... I think you are pathetic. Could you ignore my posts in future?

FWIW if there were a way to ban it outright with severe consequences for anyone caught viewing it I'd be totally on board. But we need to be realistic and not just settle for half arsed and misleading solutions