"Online pornography to be blocked by default"

So this post doesn't fit in with the norm of my blog, but it is going to be the next year of my life once I start my Masters. Today it has been announced by the PM that there are going to be huge changes to accessing pornography, filters and depicting rape will be illegal as it is in Scotland.

I want to make it clear, before I go any further, I 100% believe that porn that treats anyone as victims, having no control, abusive, child abuse and all things are wrong.....are wrong. I believe that there should not be access to these types of porn anywhere! I believe there is a fuzzy line around the age of viewing porn, 16 is the age of consent, but there are people who have sex before that.

A few key points of the changes (as summarised by BBC):

New laws so videos streamed online in the UK will be subject to the same restrictions as those sold in shops

Search engines having until October to introduce further measures to block illegal content

Experts from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre being given more powers to examine secretive file-sharing networks

A secure database of banned child porn images gathered by police across the country will be used to trace illegal content and the paedophiles viewing it.

I am in two minds about this, 1) it's a start, a long needed start to protect children seeing unwanted pornography. 2) is it going to be enough, is it just going to create new ways of finding pornography?

Having to choose to view porn through filter options provided by internet providers, seems to be a good way to stop children having access. However the threat of pop ups to make viewers aware they are about to watch something illegal doesn't seem like much of a deterrent. The database with banned images and being able to trace who is viewing abusive and illegal images hopefully will be enough a deterrent.

My concern is that a new adaptive method of viewing these images will become available, viewers will have to find new ways of finding their desired information. Examples show that this can be done, the prohibition, people still found access to alcohol. Drugs are illegal but that doesn't stop them, legal highs which are made illegal are re-structured to become legal again, streaming online videos and downloading is illegal...but it all still happens.

What happens to the porn that people want to watch? There is a whole selection of porn that isn't abusive and soon to be illegal. If you're of age and consenting then why can't we have access to porn? There is a whole category of GFP (girlfriend friendly porn), where does that fit in? Is it back to top rack magazines?

It seems to be a potentially good starting point (I can't commit to saying good), blocking certain types of porn I can only agree with, preventing children seeing these; also great! There seems to be some obvious flaws and ways around it.

So Dave I give you a 6 out of 10 for effort, but make it happen.