A CHARITY has urged the UK Government to “protect children” from exposure to online porn as almost nine in ten Scots back the move.
Pressure from campaigners over the proliferation of adult material on the internet helped shape new web laws in 2017. Provisions in the Digital Economy Act sought to force pornography sites to verify the age of users in a change aimed at keeping under-18s out.
But the roll-out of the change was shelved two years later and it has never been enforced. While new draft legislation has been drawn up, it’s understood that passing and putting this into place will take several years and the Care charity says that’s too long to wait.
Its polling found 86% of Scottish adults either agree or strongly agree that “the government should implement age verification to protect children from all online pornography”. This compares with 7% who disagree or strongly disagree.
Despite Scottish public opinion, the Scottish Government is unable to legislate in this area as the power is reserved to Westminster.
Jamie Gillies of Care, a Christian charity that campaigns on issues from gambling to human trafficking, says it “has never been clear” why the UK legislation was parked. He told the Sunday National: “The more cynical among us might suggest that libertarian voices within Cabinet were uncomfortable with requiring adults to surrender personal information to access pornography sites.
“What if such information fell into the wrong hands? Who would be exposed? The official line was that new legislation had to be developed. The Tory government has now brought forward draft online safety legislation, billed as the tool that will bridge the gap left in the law by a dearth of age verification.
He went on: “But there is a big problem. The draft online safety regime does not include all commercial pornography sites, and it does not require age verification.
“Even if the new plans did include these things, they will not be ready until at least 2024.
“We are being asked to deny children vital protections for several more years when protections have already been designed and are ready to be brought into force much sooner. This simply is not right.”
The Scottish polling shows less disagreement with potential age checks than in the UK as a whole, where the level was 13%. Across the UK as a whole, eight in ten adults agreed the age limit should be 18.
In May, a letter to the Prime Minister from Baroness Floella Benjamin signed by 60 groups and individuals including children’s charities said the failure to implement the provision has become “unsustainable”.
It cited “a clear association between pornography consumption and a higher incidence of violence against women and girls”, based on research by the Centre for Social Justice and more.
Earlier this month, a motion in the Scottish Parliament supported by 14 MSPs urged UK Ministers to enforce this section of the Digital Economy Act. Labour MSP Rhoda Grant said: “How we keep our children safe online should be an absolute priority, so the failure to implement Part 3 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 is a terrible reflection on the UK Government. Access to some of the most violent forms of illegal pornography normalises violence against women and girls at a young age, and will perpetuate the scandal of women in our society suffering abuse, violence and sexual attacks.
“The long list of those calling for the implementation should be a wake up call that this legislation needs to be enacted and enforced immediately, and I wholeheartedly support this call to action.”
The Scottish Government was contacted for comment.
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