British MP Calls For Pornography 'Opt-In' 335
Robadob writes "Internet providers should create an 'opt-in' system to prevent children gaining access to pornography, a Conservative MP has said. Claire Perry wants age-checks to be attached to all such material to reduce exposure to it. The mother-of-three, who has prompted a Commons debate on the issue, said internet firms should 'share the responsibility' of protecting children."
Yes, that will solve everything. (Score:1, Informative)
Too bad it's an idiotic idea that shows no idea about the social or technological factors involved. Not the least of which is the degree of control which they can practically exert without setting up their own independent internet cut off from the rest of us...and then somehow preventing anyone from uploading that first piece of suggestive ASCII art.
Look, porn has been around for about as long as humans have had the intellectual faculty to create and interpret representative imagery. Get used to it already. The only things even remotely related to porn which have ever harmed children in any way have come from adults with serious psychological issues. Oddly, both of the main categories have a reputation for being found among clergy, so maybe people making arguments from religious mores shouldn't be the ones telling us to please think of the children. People have boobies and ding-dongs, wow, what a surprise. It doesn't have to be weird unless you make it be.
Re:How adorable (Score:4, Informative)
Well, sometimes it actually is by accident. I have spoken to a few parents about their kids' internet usage. 3 of them told me the exact same story: their own kids in the age of 7-12 were looking for kittens, as in "Felidae". When they typed "poesjes.nl" (poes is the Dutch word for a cat) they got pussy, as in "vagina", instead.
Re:How adorable (Score:4, Informative)
This issue isn;t just about porn though. It's about any content that a parent doesn't want their children to see. This could be anything to do with war, with religion, with particular political views or just websites that criticise whatever superstitions they adhere to.
If parent want to control what their children have access to, then it's up to the parents to control that, not the companies that distribute such content.
Objectionable content (Score:3, Informative)
I find advertising strongly objectionable, and nowadays I have to go to great lengths to get rid of that crap (currently a DNS-based list + AdBlock + abuse of Stylish). Could I please get the govt to require people to opt in to advertising? Oh, and I find censorship strongly objectionable as well. Please make that opt in too.
Re:Claire Perry, way to admit to being a bad mothe (Score:5, Informative)
That depends on what you consider right and wrong.
The problem with people is that most of them truly believe that what they do, say and think is "right" in some sense. Conservatives believe that protecting children from sex is incredibly important. They believe that as honestly as the colour of the sky. Some of them believe that protecting people of all ages from sex is incredibly important. At the same time they are against artificial insemination. And decry the low birth rates. It doesn't match up, but then again neither does the extreme on the other hand of the spectrum, where everyone should be able to do whatever he or she pleases. And of course drugs don't hurt anyone. And people are always nice to each other. And someone would take out the garbage, without the evil necessity of taxes.
It is my personal belief that children aren't harmed by sex in the least, and that you could let your 5 year old watch all the hardcore pornography he wants - which would probably boil down to quick boredom and a "can you switch to the Disney channel, please?" request. It is also my personal belief that when at 9 or 11 or whatever the age is these days, when the kid does get curious, sitting down with him and watching some good porn and answering questions about it just like any other topic your kid needs to learn, would help the next generation overcome this curious attraction/repulsion fetish we have with sex and porn.
Don't do it later than 11 or so, because there comes a time when kids insist on having secrets from their parents and discovering the world on their own, and knowing everything better than the oldsters. If you haven't done basic sex education by then, you have put your kid at the risk of teenage pregnancy and STDs. Now what is the better parenting - having a talk about sex or turning your kid into an HIV infected teen parent?
That is my personal belief. The funny thing is that any conservative with a brain (they exist!) could probably argue his belief just as consistently and eloquently, and find as many flaws in mine as I in his.
Which is why it's a good thing to have discussions with the people you don't normally discuss with - those with a totally different opinion. It helps you find the flaws in yours. Your friends with the same opinion share those flaws and thus won't find them.
So, please, do rip my argument apart.
Re:How adorable (Score:4, Informative)