July 17, 2013 - FILE pf Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron answering a question during a joint news conference with Italy's Prime Minister Enrico Letta at 10 Downing Street in central London. (REUTERS)
British Prime Minister David Cameron announced a plan Monday aimed at curbing Internet pornography in the UK.
Cameron’s plan requires every Internet user in the country to say whether they want to have access to pornography, and creates a joint British and American “task force” to take on obscene websites, which Cameron said are ”corroding childhood,” according to a report in The Telegraph.
Google and other search engines also will be required to create a “black list” of the most depraved and illegal terms used to find porn sites. The new policies also include measures to stop children from accidentally finding explicit, although legal, pornographic images in public spaces. A “family-friendly” Wi-Fi initiative may begin as soon as August, with six of the largest Internet access companies on board to block legal pornography where kids can view it, including train stations and Internet cafes.
Cameron’s action comes in the wake of high-profile crimes that have been linked to access to illegal pornography and violent images online.
Cameron recently met with the parents of two girls who were murdered by men who were found to have viewed child pornography on the web. The parents of 5-year-old April Jones, and 12-year-old Tia Sharp had called on the prime minister to do more to stop violence against children, the Telegraph reported.
Some of the tactics in the new plan include Internet service providers being compelled to require customers to make an active choice about filtering adult content when they begin using services, and a campaign to deter individuals who seek to download illegal content. Every household with broadband Internet also will be asked to confirm whether they want to activate parental controls blocking adult content by the end of 2014.
At Monday’s speech in London, Cameron warned that the Internet is putting “the innocence of our children” at risk.
“[The Internet] has an impact: on the children who view things that harm them, on the vile images of abuse that pollute minds and cause crime, on the very values that underpin our society,” Cameron’s speech read, according to the Telegraph.
“I feel profoundly as a politician, and as a father, that the time for action has come,” Cameron said.
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