INTERNET PORN ACCESS BAN
Friday 1 January, 2010
World
Family
By Dee Pfeiffer
It might be miles behind when it comes to the humane treatment of animals, but it seems that India is now at the forefront when it comes to protecting the vulnerable from indecent material on the internet.
In response to recent changes to the country’s Information Technology Act of 2000, which bans the publication of pornographic material, several internet companies have introduced filters to prevent users from accessing sexual content. Those internet companies involved include Yahoo’s search engine and the Flickr photo-sharing site, which is owned by Yahoo. Both sites altered their settings earlier this month to prevent users in India from switching off the safe-search facility.
Microsoft too has barred Indian users of its Bing search engine from searching for sexual content. The block also applies to users in Hong Kong, Singapore and Korea.
That law is based on Section 292 of the Indian penal code which defines obscenity as “any content that is lascivious and that will appeal to prurient interest or the effect of which is to tend to deprave or corrupt the minds of those who are likely to see, read or hear the same”. In essence, it is to protect the vulnerable from the onslaught of sexual material on-line.
In October the scope of the 2000 Act was dramatically widened to enable action to be taken against a range of providers from internet search engines and service providers to cyber cafes. Under the new law, they are obliged to exercise due diligence and disable access to any content which contravenes the act. Failure to do so carries a three-year jail sentence and a hefty fine.
Such measures might not be welcomed by all, given that search engine reports suggest users in India are responsible for more searches for ‘sex’ than those in any other country, yet at the same time it remains a deeply religious country in which modesty is valued and virtue cherished.
This is in stark contrast to our Western society in which anything goes and where the Government turns a blind eye to those who, often through no fault of their own, stumble upon pictures and information they would rather not see – some of which can and does lead to a lifelong battle with serious addiction.
Social networking sites – the new fad – attract predators who take advantage of the fact that lax privacy settings combined with a lack of awareness allow much of what is put on site to be viewed by complete strangers. Facebook has recently altered its settings, boasting ‘more privacy’, but in fact they have taken away the facility to hide one’s personal friends from others, and their policy for minors is far from adequate, given that ‘friends of friends’ can be complete strangers with possible malevolent intentions.
What’s more, an already over-sexualised culture which encourages young girls to dress in heavy make-up and little clothing has led to many young people using such networking sites to pose provocatively, seemingly undeterred by any inherent dangers of doing so. Parents too are often left in the dark, completely oblivious to what their children are looking at and being influenced by. Is it not time for our Government to treat our youngsters and other susceptible people with the same care and consideration that India’s authorities have given to their own people? After all, children are children, regardless of where they come from and deserve a childhood free from porn and malevolent influences.
We could learn a lot from Indian women and their values and virtues. Many of them value self-respect and modesty, having been taught such values from a young age, and it seems that their government has called time on the barrage of undue influences from the West.
Yet liberals and left-wingers are, not surprisingly, already protesting that the new Indian laws are draconian, not consummate with a forward-looking society and depriving people of their rights. But what they really want is rights without responsibility.
The internet is now 24/7 and has infiltrated the lives of millions around the world. For better or worse, it’s here to stay, so like anything else which can be used for good or evil, we have a responsibility to protect the vulnerable. In cases involving free access to anything from pornography to paedophilia, we have to put the responsibility for some over the rights of all, yet in this and many other countries nobody seems to want to take responsibility for anything on the internet.
The Indian authorities should be proud of taking a huge step towards internet safety for all, but one can’t help but wonder why, if technology to block such sites is already being used by Microsoft and Yahoo to protect India’s residents, it is not being used to do the same throughout the world? Does it take an enlightened government to bully these conglomerates into making the internet a safer place for us all?
Kevin Yates wrote:
A very revealing article - more news that has lain forgotten and ignored by the mainstream media (I wonder why?)
They talk about India as a Third World country yet when it comes to matters as morality and safeguarding the moral values of society it is we, the developed West, that is truly Third World.
M Suit wrote:
I hope the Indian Government does indeed succeed in protecting the vulnerable more effectively from pornography. mediamarch recently submitted research to the Home Affairs Committee on the Prevention of Crime that showed a link between porn and sex crime. Most worryingly of all, we spoke to a psychotherapist who treats young people who have been involved in anti-social behaviour and crime of a sexual nature. He is seeing more and more of these cases, and the internet is a big part of the problem.
Noelyne wrote:
Dee… Your article is well written. Unfortunately in India we have the laws on one side and the reality on the other. Most laws are in the books but in reality everything is available for everyone on the internet. The only thing is that television movies are censored but with videos available freely that has absolutely no meaning. No identity is asked for and anyone can walk into a library and borrow as many videos with adult content as they desire.
Just a few months ago, gay rights were legalized. A society where majority do not even court / date before they are married has gone to the other extreme of legalizing gay rights.
Gill wrote:
Thankyou for this enlightening article. As we live in a so called free world I am sure pressure will be put on India to lift this censorship. There is no way that the west will do anything like this unfortunately.Something does have to be changed, some new regulations safeguarding internet use for the young and the vulnerable in society needs to be enforced.Its such a shame that we have to tell our youngsters about the dangers of revealing information on sites because of the risk of paedophiles. What a world we live in,I cannot see it getting better something has to be done. Well done Dee.
Lesley Cutts wrote:
If only such measures could be taken in the UK. This seems like a basic requirement to me. Prevention is definitely better than cure when it comes to web content and info of an explicit sexual nature. Surely choice and human rights are not the issue here, just common sense and long-term investment in what we want our society to be like. Well done India!
Rene' Taylor wrote:
Well said, Dee! It’s more than high time for laws, such as this one in India, to be an implemented. Great example, India, for the rest of the world to follow. And for those that don’t give a second thought to our responsibility for protecting our children, then be prepared to live with the consequences. Because unless we do, they (the children) will become more and more de-sensitized to the things around them and what they see, all because of what they were exposed to at such a young age. And when that happens… when they become adults, it could lead to atrocities!
Pippa Smith wrote:
Thank you Dee for this excellent article. It is inspiring to read about India’s action just as we begin our New Year and it gives us all hope as we seek to tackle our own Government later this year. Let’s give India all the support we can for this achievement.
Happy New Year to Lifebite and I do pray for your funding to continue so this important site can carry on the good work.
david skinner wrote:
Let us wait and see if international pressure is not going to be put on India to repeal this form of censorship, all in the name of Equality and Human Rights.
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