The UK government is looking to impose a porn ban that will see videos featuring “non-conventional” sex acts being censored, with this category featuring everything from spanking through to female ejaculation (male ejaculation is still a-OK, though).
The new bill will require those publishing online video to follow the requirements upheld by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), which is tasked with certifying DVDs before they go on sale. However, these requirements carry with them strict opposition to various sex acts deemed non-conventional by the BBFC, including the aforementioned spanking and female ejaculation along with urination, menstruation and sex in public. As such, you can expect a large portion of every porn site to be blocked in the UK.
The bill is part of a wider proposal on behalf of the UK government to uphold stricter age verification checks when it comes to pornographic material, which has brought with it its own set of criticisms. As many have pointed out, the government’s plan to force ISPs to block adult sites if they do not employ age verification checks could harm users, with this potentially leading to sites requiring proof of identification in order for them to be accessed. As such, users could be forced to risk the security of their personal details when browsing, potentially placing themselves at a higher risk of a cyber attack.
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The government’s actions were ostensibly to protect children when it comes to the availability of adult sites online, but the proposed rules veer into absurd territory that strays far away from maintaining child safety. For instance, one such ban would see the government employing a “four-finger rule”, which would censor videos showing more than four fingers being inserted into any orifice. Both the BBFC and the government have avoided conversation regarding whether any of these rules could be relaxed, steamrolling ahead with the position that the same rules should apply for online media as it does for physical media, ignoring the nuances of the issue altogether.
Considering that the UK’s economy is currently suffering tremendously in the wake of the EU referendum, it’s questionable that the UK government has decided to put so much of its focus upon controlling the sexual habits of its citizens. Preventing access to material that is thoroughly legal for anyone over the age of 16 in the region is incredibly backwards, and a thinly veiled attempt to infringe upon the public’s freedoms under the guise of protecting children.
