Christians welcome tougher online porn laws

Christian policy group CARE has welcomed amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill that may toughen up laws surrounding online pornography.

The amendments would require that those appearing in online pornography are proven to be of legal age and are given the appropriate to have any content featuring them removed at any point.

Additionally, the law will ban incest pornography in addition to pornography that mimics child abuse, for instance by featuring someone of legal age acting as a minor.

CARE described these changes as “monumental steps forward” in regulating online pornography. The group has previously stated that the regulation of online pornography has severely lagged behind regulation of more terrestrial mediums. The group has been campaigning for the regulation of online pornography since 1994.

The amendments might be considered by the House of Commons and after which can be expected to return to the Lords before receiving Royal Ascent.

Caroline Ansell, Director of Policy and Advocacy at CARE, said, “But today, a line is being drawn within the sand, individuals are beginning to see what we knew in 1994, online content that fuels the abuse and violent sexualisation of kids and girls shouldn’t be allowed.

“People are starting to grasp the harm that has been inflicted on society by freely available and unregulated porn online. The fight doesn’t stop here. We will proceed to campaign for greater regulation of an industry that harms women and girls across the UK and I urge MPs to back these changes today within the Commons.”

The Crime and Policing Bill has proved something of a mixed bag for Christians. While CARE has welcomed tougher laws on online pornography, other amendments have received a far less favourable Christian response.

Most notoriously the bill now includes an amendment that will decriminalise abortion as much as the purpose of birth, while earlier this week a spread of religion leaders expressed concern at a latest clause that would undermine the appropriate to protest.

As it the Lords’ amendments were considered within the Commons this week, Tory MP Sir Edward Leigh said it was “appalling that abortion as much as 39 weeks is being decriminalised, without the correct evidence or scrutiny”.

“Is it not a terrible indictment of our society that a human life could be taken when it’s about to be born, at 39 weeks, and that there ought to be a free pardon in such a serious case?” he said.