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“Gone are the furtive visits to seedy theatres and the fear of being outed as some perverted purchaser of porn. Now, all you need to indulge anonymously in the "XXX" world is your trusty personal computer and a good connection to the Internet.� (Legon: 2003).
The development of the Internet can be considered one of the most prominent new media technologies brought to life in recent years. One of the biggest things to come from the internet, both economically and in terms of social impact, has been the boom of the online porn industry. Sex sells, and where better than online? The growth of the internet has nurtured online porn into an enormous billion dollar industry. Pornography is responsible for 25% of websites, over 8% of emails and 25% of search engine requests (Detailed Statistics). According to Thornburch (2002), views in this subject area are highly polarized because there are strongly held values at stake. Thus, the political debate is heated, and often characterized by extreme views, inflammatory rhetoric, and half-truths. Therefore it is necessary to examine the central issues sorrounding the censorship of pornography on the internet such as: access to pornography by minors, the implications of censorship and how it can be enforced without infringing on the rights of adults.
Many issues need to be looked at when addressing the topic. Firstly, the history of the pornographic industry before the internet became a primary source for pornography and before online censorship technology was made available at large. Secondly, the current state of the online porn industry must be critically analysed to determine current threats and opportunities, in specific relation to the issue of access, such as how minors gain access to illicit content. Also, potential future controversies and trends in the porn industry must be looked at, based on current and historic evidence presented. It is necessary for the topic to undergo a thorough and consice analysis of the issues sorrounding it and logical, coherent conclusions drawn that take all sides of the argument into account.
There are many sides in the argument for and against censorship on the Internet. From companies in the online adult entertainment industry who are concerned that efforts to restrict the access of children to sexually explicit material on the Internet will impinge on legitimate business opportunities. To the opposing view of companies developing filtering technologies and other methods to censor children from illicit content and opportunities for them to capatilize on a growing market. In the interest of free speech, these technology companies and other pro-censorship supporters must not only recognise the rights of the adult entertainment industry, they must also ensure not to infringe on the rights of adults to view pornographic content at legitimatley. The Adult Entertainment Industy must also recognises that it has an ethical and social responsibility to uphold to the community at large.
A major impcact of the immense amount of pornographic content online is the social implications of children being exposed to graphic sexual content online at an early age. This is a major focus and basis of the argument for censorship. As according to Jerome et al. (2004) exposure has many negative social rammifications in later life such as the degredation of partners and the dissasociation of sex with intamacy. Many anti-porn advocates believe regulation is the key to protecting our children.
A principle problem faced by those who are trying to enforce censorship regulations is due to international boundaries the lack of a regulating authority, and the lack of clear definitions such as ‘what is porn’ and ‘who is responsible.’ The internet is near impossible to police. The answeres to these questions must be more clearly defined before any regulation can be enforced. It is also necessary to take into account the difference between harmful material, such as sexually explicit nudity, and illegal material, such as child pornography, and acknowledge that with regards to regulation they are two separate issues. Recently the US Supreme Court blocked a law intended to protect children from Internet Pornography. According to Mears (2004) Justice Anthony Kenny stated that the reason for this is "There are many less restrictive ways to protect children without sacrificing communication intended for adults." Thus it is necessary to explore alternative avenues to protect minors. For example, the applications of newly developed image content filtering technology.
This is an important new media topic as it is necessary to look at the social and ethical impacts of new media technologies. Many people other than those interested in the social implications of new media technologies may be interested various aspects of the topic, such as community or industry related groups.
--Chris McCosker 18:38, 9 Sep 2004 (EST)
