CARE welcomes landmark votes to close online porn loopholes

CARE has welcomed a landmark series of votes in the House of Lords this week, with Peers backing a package of amendments that will close major loopholes in the UK’s regulation of online pornography.

For more than a decade, CARE has campaigned for a simple principle: if content is too extreme to be sold in a British shop, it should not be freely available online.

Offline, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) prohibits depictions of harmful pornography that depicts illegal acts and content that humiliates and exploits women. Online, no such safeguards exist.

It is therefore welcome that the Government have announced they will bring forward proposals to ensure the laws which govern offline pornography are the same as those that apply to online content.

Similar promises were made in 2016 during the passage of the Digital Economy Act and ultimately abandoned. After more than a decade of delay, the Government must finally deliver.

Peers also backed a series of amendments tabled by Baroness Bertin, who authored the Government review in online pornography regulation, published in February last year.

These amendments will ensure that some of the worst pornographic content, freely available online, will be banned.

The amendments will:

• ban adults from pretending to be children in pornographic content.
• ensure that platforms must verify the age and consent of those in pornographic videos before they are uploaded and allow women to remove their consent at any time to have content removed.
• remove incest, including step-incest, from online platforms. In a landmark amendment, nudification apps will also be banned.

Caroline Ansell, Director of Advocacy and Policy at CARE, said:

“Today marks an important moment in the fight to bring basic standards, safeguards and accountability to an online porn industry that has operated in the shadows for too long.

"We warmly welcome the amendments passed, each of them will better protect women, children, and anyone at risk of harm.

“But the simple truth is that the UK has now waited more than a decade for online/offline parity, and every year of delay has meant more harmful material available at the click of a button, material that would be illegal to sell anywhere in the UK.

"The Government needs to quickly make good on its promise to the House.

“The ban on nudification apps, also passed by the Lords, will ensure that woman and girls will feel safe.

“Nudification of a person by AI without their knowledge or consent is a violation of the dignity of women in this country. This ban on these apps will ensure women and girls can feel safe as they live their lives.

“CARE has led calls for stronger regulation for more than a decade, and will work closely with the Government to ensure these vital protections are delivered without delay.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

For more information / interview requests: james.mildred@care.org.uk // 07717516814

You can access Baroness Bertin's review into regulating online pornography here: https://www.gov.uk/government/...;