The UK "porn ban"- what's your take?

Former Member

With the plan to introduce age-verification to limit children's access to internet porn delayed once again, I thought now would be a really good time to get everyone's opinion. 

You can read all about it in today's Metro article: https://metro.co.uk/2019/03/29/tensions-rise-incoming-porn-ban-process-delayed-9058969/

There's also a great perspective by sex and relationship YouTuber, Hannah Witton, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gODgQan9oJY

Is the "porn ban" good or bad? Useless? Dangerous? A blessing in disguise? 

Former Member

Omg I had no idea about this. Thank you for the YouTube link because I think that sums it up so well. Scary actually that if you want to watch porn you'd have to give some kind of personal detail (they spoke about driving licence/social media/go to your newsagents to get a porn pass and verify your age ((WTF))) - I think a lot of people would rather not watch porn haha. Think of the data breaches, if you were linked to the kind of porn you were into...!

I think tbh it would just divert people to use places like Twitter as they described to watch porn instead of actual sites. And technically savvy people will just get around it anyway. 

So I do think this is probably well intentioned but probably not worth it.

Former Member

So glad someone has posted about this, I definitely think that the porn ban will do more damage than good. 

I dont think its porn that is the issue, 
I think its the education in schools, or lack of. Yes, school covers the basics; how a baby is made and you should always wear a condom but schools need to start addressing sex from a psychological perspective it needs to teach girls and guys that it’s ok to say no and needs to teach them that sex isn’t always pretty, vaginas fart and things dont always go up 

I think one of the reasons porn is frowned upon is because of the expectations we form based on its content, ie with girl being submissive and male being very dominating or the girl being perfectly trimmed and prepped or the boy being well equipped- however this is something i feel we should be taught in schools, that everyone is different - i recently watched a channel 4 documentary called 100 vaginas it was so liberating seeing all these different types of vaginas and these women being proud of them 

I feel like age restricting porn will make sex more of a taboo within our society and will make it even harder for people to talk about sex openly 
I think we should be normalising sex

lastly, very good point bought up on the video why are 16 year olds able to legally have sex, but wouldn’t be able to watch porn... that is something that baffles me 

Former Member

I agree with @Aidan in that children should be protected from viewing pornography. I remember the first time I stumbled across it online I was really confused as I was still quite young.

However, i think like most things, education is better than simply banning something, as there will always be ways around laws!

Former Member

It's great to see the discussions unfolding here! 

You're totally right @Lucy307, the data breaches are a seriously scary thought. We aren't aware of what half of our 'harmless' personal information is used for, let alone something potentially inflammatory like porn preferences. I think you're spot on about people getting more creative to seek out porn on social media too. 

Former Member

I'm 100% with you on this @Past User 

My sex education at school was pretty abysmal. We didn't even begin to cover same-sex relationships so porn was kind of essential to my learning as a bisexual woman. The rest was trial and error. Talking about consent and expectations should be the absolute minimum. 

You make some really great points, especially about this kind of action being detrimental to the openness about sex that we've been fighting for in the last few decades. 

I hadn't heard about 100 Vaginas so thank you for the recommedation! 

Former Member

You've got a good point @Aidan - there's been a real surge in internet censorship in the UK in the last few years. Outright banning things definitely isn't the answer, just like @Past User says, nothing is a substitute for a decent education. 

I don't think that porn is harmful in itself, but it definitely can be for young children when they aren't provided with context or support to explore their attitudes towards it. 

Jellyelephant

In some ways this has been around for a while - I know that when I use my phone it blocks any "adult" content through my provider (three) and if I wanted to access that I would have to provide identification to my network that I am an adult. 

I think education is so important though - it is one thing to ban something, but people will always find a way around it if they are determined enough and I definitely think that children should be educated about the realities of porn (the abuse of the women, how degrading it is, the unrealistic-ness of it) etc so that they can make an informed decision about it, and if they do choose to view it then it would be in the knowledge that it is not representative of sex in real life. 

Siena

Well that would put me off using it ever again lol and im 20

Former Member

I wasn't aware of that @Jellyelephant ! I think it's definitely something that should be monitored but it seems a bit ridiculous to me that people have to prove they are over 18 when the age of consent is 16. 

But, like you say, that goes hand in hand with education. Kids are always going to find porn, and they're always going to be curious about sex. It's up to teachers and parents to provide the context and answer their questions. 

Former Member

Tell me about it @Shaunie

I definitely don't thrill at the prospect of handing over my personal data and porn preferences like that ha!

independent_

I would definitely be concerned about the data thing too. I understand that online websites collect data about me all the time, but I feel it is unethical to have to literally hand over your most identifiable personal data to porn websites. I also think education is important. I'm 16 and have had very little formal sex education, just the conception and STI presentation when I was about 13. 

I also find it strange how, as a 16 year old, these rules would prevent me from accessing porn websites even though I am able to consent to actual sex? I find it strange that I'm sexually active yet unable to watch any sort of porn.

Also, work arounds. My extremely internet savvy boyfriend would be able to get round these restrictions in a matter of minutes. I'm not so technical, but a lot of people my age would be able to do this relatively easy. 

Former Member

This is great stuff @Aidan, very insightful. Thank you so much for sharing these links!

Former Member

Past User said:

I feel like I probably shouldn't be here, but I've already had the talk, and I know all too well what...dare I say it? "Suggestive videos" are.

*Facepalms* U...K...Govern...ment...Putting a ban on this sort of content isn't going to stop vpn and tor from getting around it. Ntm that it can have a very VERY harsh impact on children's ability to find their likes and dislikes. (Yes, I'm referring to "those" kinds of likes and dislikes.)

Okay, so in concept of the age of consent thing: Again, this is why society confuses me! I know kids in my local town who always ask me if I watch *bleeps out word just in case*, and if I say I don't I'm automatically a kid compared to them! Even kids I know that are as young as 10 watch this kind of content, and nobody-not even their parents-bat an eye!

One thing that I'm a little concerned by is...What if the kid's parents set up an account for their kid? And does this law have an affect if the kid was the creator of the video? (I'd say about hentai but I think standards won't allow me.)

Regardless, the government need to get rid of this ban, because for all they know they could just be damaging people more with it than without.

Now if anyone needs me, I'll be waiting for a reply...Hopefully...

@Past User I just wanted to say that since this is an old thread I've deleted your post above and made it so the thread doesn't show up where it shouldn't. Its great to see your passionate about this, but please do keep an eye on how old the thread is before you do.

Former Member

Abi said:

Past User said:

I feel like I probably shouldn't be here, but I've already had the talk, and I know all too well what...dare I say it? "Suggestive videos" are.

*Facepalms* U...K...Govern...ment...Putting a ban on this sort of content isn't going to stop vpn and tor from getting around it. Ntm that it can have a very VERY harsh impact on children's ability to find their likes and dislikes. (Yes, I'm referring to "those" kinds of likes and dislikes.)

Okay, so in concept of the age of consent thing: Again, this is why society confuses me! I know kids in my local town who always ask me if I watch *bleeps out word just in case*, and if I say I don't I'm automatically a kid compared to them! Even kids I know that are as young as 10 watch this kind of content, and nobody-not even their parents-bat an eye!

One thing that I'm a little concerned by is...What if the kid's parents set up an account for their kid? And does this law have an affect if the kid was the creator of the video? (I'd say about hentai but I think standards won't allow me.)

Regardless, the government need to get rid of this ban, because for all they know they could just be damaging people more with it than without.

Now if anyone needs me, I'll be waiting for a reply...Hopefully...

@Past User I just wanted to say that since this is an old thread I've deleted your post above and made it so the thread doesn't show up where it shouldn't. Its great to see your passionate about this, but please do keep an eye on how old the thread is before you do.

Thanks for the heads up Abi, oops! I had no idea this thread was old XD Sorry