Help Make the Web Safer for Children

So over the weekend I got tagged by Carol at My View of It and by Romesho. For those who aren’t familiar with tagging, it is a way to spread an idea, hoping to gain attention for a particular cause or idea. In this case the cause is to Help Make the Web Safer for Children. It was begun by John Harmon and Mihaela Lica, and here is the message they would like to spread from Brave Humans:

Please require a password-protected login before allowing even free access to explicit adult content. We understand that selling porn is your business and
we respect your right to make a legal living. But understand our legitimate concerns and work with us. You already have the “warning adult content” on your websites. Yet kids, who are not legal customers of your product, ignore the warning. So to prevent them from having direct access to explicit images, texts and sounds, the simplest way is to have a password-protected login. No more “free tours” before a visitor supplies basic information.

To further quote Romesho

Just to make things clear: this is not a campaign against pornography as a whole, this is not about restricting legitimate free speech and legal commerce this is a common sense request to all the “adult site” webmasters: password-protected login on porn sites for all the explicit materials, no more “free clips”, “free tours”, “free pics” without login!The initiators of the project are Jon Harmon, founder of Force for Good, and Mihaela Lica of Pamil Visions. We are bloggers and PR officers.

Read our“Open Letter to Bloggers Around the World: Help Make the Web Safer for Children” to understand the motivation behind the project. How can you help?

If you are a blogger, post the common sense request to all the “adult site” webmasters on your site. You can either write your own article about it, or simply copy-paste our letter:

Please require a password-protected login before allowing even free access to explicit adult content. We understand that selling porn is your business and we respect your right to make a legal living. But understand our legitimate concerns and work with us. You already have the “warning adult content” on your websites. Yet kids, who are not legal customers of your product, ignore the warning. So to prevent them from having direct access to explicit images, texts and sounds, the simplest way is to have a password-protected login. No more “free tours” before a visitor supplies basic information.

When you are done, write a short email to bloggerpower@yahoo.com and supply the exact link to that entry. We will link to you from the BLOGGERS page. You don’t need to link to us if you don’t want to! But we need to make a list of all those entries at the end of this call to action. We need to do it to show it to the offline media how far the blogging community is ready to go to protect the interest of the children. We need to do it to show it to the politicians that the public opinion requests measures.If you are not a blogger, or you simply don’t want to write an entry about this, but you want to support the campaign, the COMMENTS page is the right place for you.

If you are an artist and you’d like to show support by creating a special artwork for this cause, we have a special page for you too: ARTWORK.You are welcome to place the official logo on your website to show your support as well.For any questions, contact us at bloggerpower@yahoo.com Thanks for your support!

Since I seem to be unable to formulate my own opinion on this subject and find myself in general agreement with Brian at Brave Humans so I will let him speak for me :

But here’s the thing: It won’t work. Every single webmaster on the planet could adhere to this noble cause, and almost nothing would change.

In an age in which pornography could only be accessed by purchasing it through strict filters and had to be transported physically I had ample access to pornography. And here’s the important thing to note: The filters didn’t impede my access in the slightest. I didn’t need to gain access by shoplifting or purchasing it with a fake ID because there was plenty of access just between friends. Fast forward to today, where megabyte files can be copied and transferred in seconds, and can be stored as a hidden folder on your ipod. Children today can file-share movies and music right under the nose of a film and music industry desperate to prevent piracy. Purveyors of adult content face the same challenge.

Despite my pessimism, I do think the cause is a good one. I just think it is a cause that deserves better than a simple meme or lobbying congress to make it into law. It merits serious discussion.

I agree this is a good cause, but I doubt it will work or have the intended effect. The reality is kids will be able to get porn regardless. They are very clever and able to find what they want whether it is illegal or not. Think drugs or alcohol or porn. The more difficult it becomes to obtain, the more children want to obtain it. Don't get me wrong I am certainly not advocating giving kids porn, especially not hard-core stuff. What I am saying is that it is my responsibility as a parent to teach both my children about sexuality and let them decide how and when they wish to view pornography. This way they are able to make informed and educated decisions, not decisions based upon ignorance or pure curiosity.

As a strict libertarian, I also don't think the government should mandate any additional laws at this point in time on this subject. Porn, like any other form of speech is protected under the 1st Amendment and to make it more difficult for law abiding adults to legally obtain pornography is a waste of time and would probably not pass through the courts anyway.

From my perspective, kiddie porn is illegal and should remain so. Anyone caught trafficking these pictures whether by print or Internet, should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Beyond that adults or even children with parental supervision should be able to view whatever they deem appropriate. It is not my place or the governments place to regulate what my neighbor deems decent. But hey, that is just me.