Further delays to UK Pornography Controls

Well the 1st April ‘came and went’ and still we can all access pornography sites without age verification.  This is the second delay in recent times and though the suggestion is it will be in force by the completion of Easter – only time will tell.

The major stumbling point has involved the cyber security and date collection processes required by any third party setting up the age verification block.  The UK Legislation will require ALL adult content sites to have an approved ‘age verification’ system in place.  The driving force behind this much needed legislation is to make access to pornography difficult by those under 18 years of age.  I only wish the government had recognised that it is not only protection for our children…but for adults and families as well.

“A 2016 study commissioned by the NSPCC found 53% of 11-16 year olds surveyed had seen sexually explicit content online.  The NSPCC fears children are becoming desensitised to ‘extreme and violent’ porn.”

Though the legislation is well overdue I do have serious concerns about how the system will work.  It has been suggested that sites may take you to a third party page where you will be required to enter data that ‘may’ include:

• Driving licence details

• Debit/Credit card details

• Phone, e-mail and address details

• Buying an age verifcation card that allows you to enter a unique identity code

Previous data handling fiascos do concern me and I am worried that this security issue may still hold up the implementation.  Ignoring the risks of data breaches if you do ‘sign up’ I think it is a useful deterrant knowing you may have your name released to the public unexpectedly?

What I do find comical is the time most articles spend discussing the implications of breaching data rather than the growing tide of ‘anecdotal data’ showing a real  issue of pornography addiction destroying our men. In fact, in an online article on Chronicle Live NE dated 31 Mar 19, the auther states that this talk of addiction is just ‘scaremongering’ and that in the current digital age it is important that kids are able to learn about sex and sexuality…

Thank you Professor Smith!!

It is clear that in our modern world the fear of desensitising our children to explicit and degrading images is not the main concern – data breach is. In the mind of modern educators our youth need to feel confident that they can ‘explore’ all aspects of sexuality so why have such restrictive measures – especially as we know our children are more than able to bypass them etc…

These arguments are  mainstream so don’t be surprised if this legislation never actually comes into force – just continually subject to delays because of data security concerns.  Meanwhile the devil will continue to steal our souls.

Men of Hope take heart!  If this legislation comes into force then you will be required to give a third party personal identifiable information that will be able to link your pornography searches and preferences to a ‘unique identifier’. That should be an extremely scary thought AND most definitely another armoury in your resolve to avoid pornography.

Yours in Jesus, Mary and Joseph

SA James