Britain’s harsh crackdown on Internet porn prompts free-speech debate

[steve2470]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/britains-harsh-crackdown-on-internet-porn-prompts-free-speech-debate/2013/09/28/d1f5caf8-2781-11e3-9372-92606241ae9c_story.html

LONDON — In a land whose uptight reputation is belied by its wicked ways, the Conservative-led British government is in the midst of a crusade to enact some of the strictest curbs on pornography in the Western world.

The campaign follows the rape and slayings of two young girls by men seemingly addicted to online pornography. One of the children, 5-year-old April Jones, was buried Thursday after a nationally televised funeral.

Just as in the United States, child pornography is already illegal here. But citing widely accessible brands of legal pornography for “corrupting childhood” and “normalizing sexual violence against women,” Prime Minister David Cameron has launched an all-out assault that opponents say is pitting state-sponsored morality against Internet freedom in one of the planet’s most open societies.

Family-friendly filters will soon be automatically installed when most new subscribers sign up for Internet service, with customers wishing to view pornography needing to make a conscious choice to turn them off. Before the end of next year, most of the 21 million wired households in Britain will also be placed in the awkward position of having to declare whether they want to keep access to legal online pornography or have it blocked by their telecommunications providers.

[blkmusclmachine]

1. Change You Can Believe In!

[jakeXT]

2. Here a week old event, I haven't watched it all yet