To think we should block porn as they do in France...

[jobhunter7]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10349501/Major-porn-sites-BLOCKED-France-unless-ensure-users-18.html

@Slingingcontest

Yes it's not perfect but it is a start and I think it is making an important public statement too.

It’s just reinforcing the idea that rules/laws are easy to break and aren’t enforced. That’s dangerous as it transcends into other things. It’s why so many people are happy to break current laws when it suits them.

It's not a start, it's utterly pointless

And it's sending the message 'we would rather give you smoke and mirrors than solid advice on using blockers, providing education and urging supervision'

Why is it one or the other? You can do both!

I agree there should be much, much stricter age verification. A clickable button just to say ‘yes I’m over 18, let me in’ just isn’t good enough.

However, I wouldn’t want porn banned completely😂

Ironic that so many people posting on an Internet forum have no idea how the internet works, unless it’s magically changed overnight to running on wishful thinking and no-one told me.

Hopefully the French politicians passing this know what a bit of pointless gesture politics it is. If they seriously think it will have any effect then the French are in trouble as they are clearly being ruled by idiots.

Yes, they should do it.

I realize it will likely not be perfect and people who are motivated will be able to get around it.

But just the fact that it's being done will have an effect on people's perceptions.

But just the fact that it's being done will have an effect on people's perceptions

What, that the givernment hasn't a clue?

Why is it one or the other? You can do both!

Because one (blockers, education , supervision) is useful though not perfect, and the other is a useless empty gesture.

If signing up for better sites, which betting is illegal when under 18, require photographic ID to verify your age. Why cant porn sites do the same?

I think posters are missing that in order to have any hope of moving towards regulating the porn industry, then a legal framework has to be put in place and this is a first step.

According to Poliitico;

"In order to enforce the law, the French audiovisual regulator CSA will be granted new powers to audit and sanction companies that do not comply — sanctions could go as far as blocking access to the websites in France with a court order."

@Spreadingtheword

If signing up for better sites, which betting is illegal when under 18, require photographic ID to verify your age. Why cant porn sites do the same?

They can and some do

But that's not the same as blocking porn (as thread title misleading suggests the French measure will do)

As pointed out many times earlier on the thread (incodung how) it is easy to circumvent.

Of course the Freanch measure is limited to age verification on five well-known sites, which would be detected and blocked even by the weakest of filters.

And obviously porn online isn't only found on tidily labelled 'porn sites' which is the weakness with filters/blockers. Which is why education and supervision really matters

(PS: I am not 'pro-porn' in any way. I am very concerned about measures which give the illusion of 'protection' which provides false and worthless assurances)

sanctions could go as far as blocking access to the websites in France with a court order

RTFT to see why that's a useless step

@GlacindaTheTroll

sanctions could go as far as blocking access to the websites in France with a court order

RTFT to see why that's a useless step

Not necessarily if it becomes part of small step towards individual EU member states building legislation that eventually leads to EU wide collective regulation.

They were supposed to be adding harsher age restriction to the 5 main sites in the U.K. however I don't believe it has happened yet.

Have you actually RTFT about why it does not work and will not do what it purports to do ?

@LondonQueen

They were supposed to be adding harsher age restriction to the 5 main sites in the U.K. however I don't believe it has happened yet.

Plan was dropped in 2019, mainly because it's bollocks

www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/oct/16/uk-drops-plans-for-online-pornography-age-verification-system

'In addition, earlier this year the Guardian showed how one age verification system could be sidestepped in minutes. Proponents of the policy privately accepted it would not block a persistent teenager from accessing adult material but said it could stop younger children from stumbling across images they found deeply disturbing"

And of course, younger DC are much better protected by the use of device based blockers, supervision and age-appropriate e education.

Meh. Utterly pointless. As long as the site is based outside France they can do what they wish. Even if banned, it will pop up on a new url a few hours later.

Also slightly disturbed at the level of preaching here. While I think we need to take measures to reduce children’s access, I don’t see any basis to prevent adults from watching porn.

Personally I’m so pissed off with how so many men can’t control themselves with this shit that I think those of us who aren’t ok with it and find out it’s happening and A LOT need to stop following the ‘be kind, be supportive’ line of thinking and start telling blokes how this kind of behaviour makes us feel. I personally found as someone over 50 it made me feel my rather right on H was a bloody secretive sleaze and I definitely didn’t feel 100% the same-I appreciate not everyone feels the same as I do, but plenty do and are made to feel that ‘well, if you want a guy in your life you just have to live with it’. This is a self perpetuating pile of shit— as men then just carry on with it and are hardly likely to come down hard on this behaviour on teenage boys , when doing exactly the same shit themselves.

As @Janesmom says— I see little point in banning it - people get round it— I think it needs to be made clear whether or not it’s ok in a relationship really early on and followed through— at the moment it sadly is becoming thought of as the norm and it’s affecting both long relationships and younger people’s attitudes too — if you are fine with it , then ok , but a lot of people feel uncomfortable about it and are then made to feel bad for not being ok with it

Open "adults" sites need to stop- worldwide. Make everybody register as a first step to stop kids accessing it.

@NoRaceInThisHorse

Open "adults" sites need to stop- worldwide. Make everybody register as a first step to stop kids accessing it.

Just install a blocker on your kids’ pc and phone.

I don’t particularly want any third party having my real details to track mine, or my partner’s, porn habits. And I’m pretty sure I’m not the only female who watches porn sometimes….

@Janesmom

Meh. Utterly pointless. As long as the site is based outside France they can do what they wish. Even if banned, it will pop up on a new url a few hours later.

Also slightly disturbed at the level of preaching here. While I think we need to take measures to reduce children’s access, I don’t see any basis to prevent adults from watching porn.

When the most popular types of porn are all transgressive, it may be that continually allowing people to be exposed to that, and tie their sexual satisfaction to it, will have poor social outcomes.

Bravo France. 👏🇫🇷

Bloody DM link though 🤮

Yes you can bypass with VPN but that takes a bit more effort and at least combats the casual viewer, of which kids make up a large number I suspect. And the more countries that do this, the harder it becomes to work around.

And anyway this should, be the first in a series of measures to make porn less accessible. They didn't drastically reduce smoking overnight; it started with taking adverts off the telly, then billboards, then sporting events, then with more education, then banning smoking in pubs , the in cars, then putting horrible pictures on packets, then hiding the packets in shops. Years and years of inching forward. Let's hope the fight against porn is faster.

The UK tried to put this in place a couple of years ago but found, much like France is doing now, that it was much easier said than done.

@Spreadingtheword

If signing up for better sites, which betting is illegal when under 18, require photographic ID to verify your age. Why cant porn sites do the same?

It doesn't work, underage people are still using betting sites by "borrowing" ID and cards from elder siblings, parents, etc.

I don't understand why this debate immediately jumps to "pointless cos VPNs"
We make loads of stuff illegal to indicate its harmful, knowing people will still do it...

• drugs
• underage drinking
• driving over the speedlimit
• slander (daying damaging untruths about someone)
• selling counterfeit goods
• paying under minimum wage
• health and safety laws

Off the top of my head. We do this because 1) laws indicates societal norms and 2) lots of people will comply because they are law abiding.

By continually saying its "too hard" to block children accessing Internet porn society is basically approving porn use by children.

That's before we even get onto the type of stuff these sites host - a lot of which is illegal, if you look at legal definitions, but that's ok because "freedom of speech"