Horrible news today for all teenage boys in Iceland: the government of this North Atlantic nation is hoping to become the first county to actually ban pornography.
The proposal by Interior Minister Ogmundur Jonasson has created quite the stor, but this official’s political adviser doesn’t understand why.
Asks Halla Gunnarsdottir:
“When a 12-year-old types ‘porn’ into Google, he or she is not going to find photos of naked women out on a country field, but very hardcore and brutal violence. There are laws in our society. Why should they not apply to the Internet?”
Technically, it should be noted, pornography is already banned in Iceland. But it’s also undefined. So it has been impossible to enforce.
But the idea of restricting websites? Of outlawing the ability to surf online for hardcore nudity and sexual situations?
It has Internet-freedom advocates concerned.
“This kind of thing does not work. It is technically impossible to do in a way that has the intended effect,” said Smari McCarthy of free-speech group the International Modern Media Institute. “And it has negative side effects – everything from slowing down the Internet to blocking content that is not meant to be blocked to just generally opening up a whole can of worms regarding human rights issues, access to information and freedom of expression.”
What do you think, readers? Could you live in a nation without porn?