In favour Web blocking in the United Kingdom

1 pornography

1.1 child pornography

1.1.1 internet newsgroups
1.1.2 internet watch foundation
1.1.3 introduction of cleanfeed
1.1.4 iwf/wikipedia controversy
1.1.5 search engines
1.1.6 cartoons


1.2 extreme pornography
1.3 video on demand
1.4 revenge porn
1.5 written pornography

pornography

there number of legal exceptions freedom of speech in united kingdom concern pornography. these include obscenity , indecency, including corruption of public morals , outraging public decency. uk has markedly different tradition of pornography regulation found in other western countries. liberal democracy not have legalised hardcore pornography during 1960s , 1970s. pre-existing laws, such obscene publications act 1959, continued make sale illegal through 1980s , 1990s. additionally new laws introduced extend existing prohibitions. video recordings act 1984 required bbfc censor video works before release. result, uk became 1 of few representative government countries sale of explicit pornography on video (and later dvd) illegal. appearance of internet during 1990s introduced unregulated access hardcore pornography in uk first time. existing legal , regulatory framework seen insufficient , uk governments have subsequently introduced piecemeal legislation , regulation. nevertheless, obscene publications act still in force, , makes illegal websites can accessed uk without age restriction contain types of adult content.

child pornography

the first attempts regulate pornography on internet concerned child pornography. legislation in form of protection of children act 1978 existed making illegal take, make, distribute, show or possess indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of under age of 18. r v bowden case in 2000 established downloading indecent images of children internet constituted offence of making, since doing causes copy of image exist did not exist.

internet newsgroups

initial steps restrict pornography on internet taken uk police. in 1990s began take pro-active regulatory role respect internet, using existing legislation , working on self-tasking basis. in august 1996, metropolitan police clubs & vice unit sent open letter internet service providers association (ispa) supplying them list of 132 usenet discussion groups believed contain pornographic images or explicit text , requesting ban access them. list included newsgroups carried child pornography. ian taylor, conservative science , industry minister, warned isps police act against company provided users pornographic or violent material . taylor went on make clear there calls legislation regulate aspects of internet unless service providers seen wholeheartedly responsible self-regulation . following this, tabloid-style exposé of isp demon internet appeared in observer newspaper, alleged clive feather (a director of demon) provides paedophiles access thousands of photographs of children being sexually abused . during summer , autumn of 1996 uk police made known planning raid isp aim of launching test case regarding publication of obscene material on internet. action of uk police has been described amounting censorship without public or parliamentary debate. has been pointed out list supplied isps police in august included number of legitimate discussion groups concerned legal sexual subjects. these contained textual material without pictures not expected infringe uk obscenity laws.

internet watch foundation

the direct result of 1996 campaign of threats , pressure setting of internet watch foundation (iwf), independent body public report potentially criminal internet content, both child pornography , other forms of criminally obscene material. these reports passed on isps , police ‘notice , takedown’ service removal of potentially illegal content hosted in uk. intended arrangement protect internet industry criminal liability. iwf intended support development of website rating system. demon internet driving force behind iwf s creation, , 1 of directors, clive feather, became iwf s first chairman.

after 3 years of operation, iwf reviewed dti , home office consultants kpmg , denton hall. report delivered in october 1999 , resulted in number of changes being made role , structure of organisation, , relaunched in 2000, endorsed government , dti, played facilitating role in creation , according dti spokesman.

at time, patricia hewitt, minister e-commerce, said: internet watch foundation plays vital role in combating criminal material on net. counter accusations iwf biased in favour of isps, new independent chairman appointed, roger darlington, former head of research @ communication workers union.

introduction of cleanfeed

between 2004 , 2006, bt group introduced cleanfeed content blocking system technology implement section 97a orders. bt spokesman jon carter described cleanfeed s function block access illegal web sites listed internet watch foundation , , described server hosting filter checked requested urls web sites on iwf list, , returning error message of web site not found positive matches. cleanfeed silent content filtering system, means internet users cannot ascertain whether being regulated cleanfeed, experiencing connection failures, or if page not exist. proportion of internet service providers using cleanfeed beginning of 2006 80% , rose 95% middle of 2008. in february 2009, government said looking @ ways cover final 5%.

according small-sample survey conducted in 2008 nikolaos koumartzis, ma researcher @ london college of communication, vast majority of uk based internet users (90.21%) unaware of existence of cleanfeed software. moreover, 2 thirds of participants did not trust british telecommunications or iwf responsible silent censorship system in uk. majority prefer see message stating given site blocked , have access form unblocking given site.

cleanfeed targeted alleged child sexual abuse content identified internet watch foundation. however, no safeguards exist stop secret list of blocked sites being extended include sites unrelated child pornography. had led criticism of cleanfeed s lack of transparency gives considerable potential broad censorship. further, cleanfeed has been used block access copyright-infringing websites after court order in 2011 required bt block access newzbin2. has led describe cleanfeed invisible censorship mechanism ever invented , liken powers of censorship employed china. there risks increasing internet regulation lead internet more restricted in future.

iwf/wikipedia controversy

on 5 december 2008 iwf system blacklisted wikipedia article on scorpions album virgin killer. statement organisation s spokesman alleged album cover, displayed in article, contained potentially illegal indecent image of child under age of 18 . users of major isps, including virgin media, be/o2/telefónica, easynet/uk online, demon , opal, unable access content, despite album cover being available unfiltered on other major sites including amazon.co.uk, , available sale in uk. system started proxying users, accessed wikipedia article, via minimal number of servers, resulted in site administrators having block them editing wikipedia or creating accounts. on 9 december, iwf removed article blacklist, stating: iwf s overriding objective minimise availability of indecent images of children on internet, however, on occasion our efforts have had opposite effect.

search engines

the google search engine google search includes safesearch filter restricts content returned search. in december 2012 option turn filter off entirely removed.

in july 2013 prime minister david cameron called on internet search engines blacklist search terms, bring no results. microsoft responded introducing blacklist provided child exploitation , online protection centre (ceop). pop-up warning appears on uk version of search engine bing when searches contravene blacklist. in november 2013 google announced 100,000 blacklisted search terms no longer give results, while 13,000 produce warning message. child protection experts, including former head of ceop, have warned these measures not protect children because child pornography on internet on hidden networks inaccessible through these search engines.

cartoons

in 2009 uk ministry of justice claimed legislation needed reduce availability of hardcore paedophilic cartoon pornography on internet, particularly japan. decision made make possession of cartoon pornography depicting minors illegal in uk. coroners , justice act 2009 (sections 62–68), came force on 6 april 2010, created offence in england, wales , northern ireland of possession of prohibited image of child. maximum penalty 3 years imprisonment , listing on sex offender registry.

a prohibited cartoon image defined 1 involves minor in situations pornographic , grossly offensive, disgusting or otherwise of obscene character . act makes illegal own picture depicting under-18s participating in sexual activities, or depictions of sexual activity in presence of under 18 years old. definition of child in act includes depictions of 16- , 17-year-olds on age of consent in uk, adults predominant impression conveyed of person under age of 18. law has been condemned coalition of graphic artists, publishers, , mps, fearing criminalise graphic novels such lost girls , watchmen.

extreme pornography

calls violent adult pornography sites shut down began in 2003, after murder of jane longhurst graham coutts, man said had obsession internet pornography. jane longhurst s mother , sister campaigned tighten laws regarding pornography on internet. in response government announced plans crack down on sites depicting rape, strangulation, torture , necrophilia. however, in august 2005 government announced instead of targeting production or publication, planned criminalise private possession of government termed extreme pornography . defined real or simulated examples of types of sexual violence necrophilia , bestiality. passing of criminal justice , immigration act 2008 resulted in possession of extreme pornographic images becoming illegal in england , wales of january 2009.

the law has been criticised criminalising images no crime took place in creation. additionally, law s placing of liability on consumers rather producers has been criticised creating power imbalance between individual , state. there has never been legal challenge law in uk cost of doing beyond individuals. in 2011, there on 1300 prosecutions under law, compared government estimate of 30 cases year.

in 2004 in scotland, committee of members of scottish parliament backed call ban adult pornography equal opportunities committee supported petition claiming links between porn , sexual crimes , violence against women , children. spokeswoman said while have no plans legislate will, of course, continue monitor situation. in 2007, msps looked again @ criminalising adult pornography, in response call scottish women against pornography pornography classified hate crime against women. opposed feminists against censorship. in september 2008, scotland announced own plans criminalise possession of termed extreme adult pornography, extending law further, including depictions of rape imagery. these plans became law criminal justice , licensing (scotland) act 2010.

in july 2013 david cameron proposed pornography depicts rape (including simulations involving consenting adults) should become illegal in england , wales bringing law in line of scotland. maximum penalty proposed possession of such images three-year jail term. these plans became law criminal justice , courts act 2015.

video on demand

the audiovisual media services regulations 2014 require online streaming of videos (known video on demand or vod) in uk conforms bbfc r18 certificate regulations had restricted sold in licensed sex shops. regulations first announced in july 2013 david cameron.

the uk regulator of vod ofcom, replaced atvod regulator beginning of 2016. during tenure regulator atvod regularly instructed uk websites comply rules , failure resulted in ofcom issuing fine or shutting down website. criminal offence not restrict access adult vod content aged on 18, means such requiring user provide credit card details.

in march 2014 atvod proposed new legislation introduce licensing system uk adult content providers. verification of customers ages condition of granting license. furthermore, there legal requirement on financial institutions block customer payments of unlicensed adult websites. in october 2014 reported ministers drafting legislation compel credit card providers carry out age checks on users before allowing access adult websites.

revenge porn

an amendment criminal justice , courts act 2015 creates specific offence in england , wales of distributing private sexual image of without consent , intention of causing them distress (commonly called revenge porn ). maximum custodial sentence 2 years. law received royal assent , came effect in february 2015.

pressure change in law came reports in april 2014 uk charities including national stalking helpline, women s aid, , uk safer internet centre use of revenge porn websites had increased. women’s aid charity chief executive polly neate stated, meaningful, attempt tackle revenge porn must take account of other kinds of psychological abuse , controlling behaviour, , revenge porn form of coercive control. control central domestic violence, why re campaigning psychological abuse , coercive control criminalised . in july, minister of justice chris grayling announced plans take appropriate action address revenge porn in britain. house of lords committee, in report on social media crime, subsequently called clarification dpp when revenge porn becomes crime.

written pornography

r v walker, called girls (scream) aloud obscenity trial , first prosecution written material under section 2(1) of obscene publications act in 2 decades. involved prosecution of darryn walker posting story entitled girls (scream) aloud on internet erotic story site in 2008. story fictional written account describing kidnap, rape , murder of pop group girls aloud. reported iwf passed information on scotland yard’s obscene publications unit. during trial prosecution claimed story accessed young fans of girls aloud. however, defence demonstrated located searching such material. result, case abandoned , defendant cleared of charges.

in october 2013 press exposé resulted in number of on-line e-book retailers removing adult fiction titles including descriptions of rape, incest or bestiality download catalogues.