UK porn ban is a ‘panic law’ that won’t even work, says top XXX filmmaker Erika Lust
An industry insider has warned that there's a "huge risk" for Brits who will soon face strict online blocks
A TOP female porn producer has blasted the UK Government’s decision to ban all porn in Britain by default.
Adult filmmaker Erika Lust called the legislation a “panic law” that won’t protect youngsters from porn, speaking to The Sun.
By the end of 2018, the Government will have blocked all adult websites – and you’ll only be able to access if you sign up to an age verification scheme.
This means potentially handing over personal details, and even sensitive documents like your driving licence or passport.
The goal is to keep youngster from ending up on dodgy websites.
But Erika said the nanny state scheme won’t even work: “They’re going to watch it anyway.
“Young people are clever. They want to find out more about sex; they will find their ways around it.”
She reckons there’s a better way to spend all of that dosh.
“Instead of budgeting all of this money to try to prohibit them from watching something that they are interested in, they should use the money to create an army of sex educators ready to our young people about sexuality in an honest way.
“Because they are smart enough to know the difference if you help them see it.”
Erika is a Swedish filmmaker who creates female-friendly pornos.
She released her first film in 2004, after becoming “tired of chauvinistic and tacky mainstream porn”.
UK porn ban explained
Here's what you need to know...
- Last year the Government introduced the Digital Economy Act
- Part of it aims to protect children from accidentally finding porn online
- So the Government is forcing porn sites to verify the age of all UK users
- If you can't (or won't) verify your age, you'll be blocked from accessing the site
- There are lots of age verification tools in development at the moment
- They'll involve handing over personal details or forms of ID
- This had led to privacy and security concerns among digital rights experts
- The British Board of Film Classification is overseeing the project
- The BBFC will decide which websites require blocking
- The scheme was originally supposed to launch in April 2018
- But the Gov pushed it back until some time before the end of the year
But rather than banning all porn outright, Erika believes parents and schools need to do more to educate kids about adult materials.
“They are growing up. They feel their sexuality. They want to explore, learn more, who they are and what they like. They turn to porn,” she told The Sun.
“Adults won’t talk to them. Parents are too scared to acknowledge porn exists.”
“Suddenly there’s a vacuum in society, and in so many schools it’s only about the practical sex information. How are bodies work, the biology, and then they touch subjects like protection – how you should use a condom so you don’t get STIs; you should be careful so you don’t get pregnant.
“The focus is all on scaring young people – not talking to them about feelings and emotions, and the butterflies they feel in their body.”
Erika is one of many critics of the UK Government’s porn block plans.
Experts have warned that forcing people to hand over sensitive information to get access to porn online carries huge risks.
“They are going to gather your private info, gather your sex info, what turns you on, what you click on and pay for,” explained Erika.
“And then we have absolutely no guarantee that they are gonna know how to protect that information.”
“There’s a huge risk obviously for people who want to be private. Doctors, lawyers, teachers – especially people who are working with kids. Won’t they have any right to sexuality any longer? To go on porn sites and check out legal content?”
She described the block as a “panic law”, and says it’s written by “people who don’t listen to…people who are working in these industries”.
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Back in March, we spoke to Myles Jackman, a top lawyer for digital advocacy firm Open Rights Group.
He warned that a privacy breach following the porn block is “ridiculously likely to happen”.
Myles said this could lead to blackmail and suicide for people caught up in scandal.
But he also said it could push youngsters using VPN software to get around blocks to the “dark web” – a dangerous corner of the internet that’s rife with crime, illegal pornography and extremist materials.
Like Erika, he suggested rolling out “proper sexual relationships education in schools” rather than simply banning porn for everyone.
Do you think the Government is right to block all pornography by default in the UK? Let us know in the comments!
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