Germany Flirting With Internet Porn Filtering

BERLIN — A veteran German politician has caught Great Britain’s porn filtering bug, sparking a dialogue with those who believe handcuffing the Internet is not the answer to protecting children from questionable content.

Norbert Geis, a 74-year old poltico told Deutche Welle that studies show that Internet porn adversely affects children and teenager’s sexual development and could lead to brutality.

Germany does not require an over 18 warning on adult material and filters are not mandatory.

Geis wants his country to adopt a similar plan to U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron’s new opt-in measure as a first step in blocking adult content." I think that an Internet provider could — if demanded by the user — block a certain computer or Internet device for such content," Geis said.

Educator Kristin Langer of the pedagogical initiative "Schau hin!," although agreeing that porn has an impact on young people, said that Cameron’s proposal is too vague and that censorship laws don’t replace education. "Children and teenagers get a questionable idea of sexuality," Langer told DW. "You have to assume that pornographic pictures or film are having quite an impact."

But she maintained that filtering is no substitute for education and that parents would still have to take control and make use of existing tools such as search engines created especially for children. She added that filters available that block certain pages would only work if the website in question has an age tag similar to those for movies and computer games that are required by German law.

Langer said questionable sites could be similarly labeled by authorities. "We basically do have a broad system which is backed up by laws. In addition, parents still need to help their children with the way they use the Internet," Langer explained.

And IT expert Alvar Freude, member of the German parliament's commission on Internet and digital society, also wants the onus put on parents. He said parents should be proactive about restricting access and teach kids about the potential porn dangers.

But he stressed that filters are not a good solution because they aren’t precisely targeted. He explained that filters automatically detect a site’s content, potentially blocking pages that are not at all dangerous.

Adopting Cameron’s filtering system could also be problematic in Germany because it contradicts the country’s freedom of information as granted by the Basic Law, according to Freude. The law says "that the state may not prevent its citizens' access to content."

Like most critics of porn filtering, Freude said blocking porn is useless because determined users can work around the barriers. "Teenagers who want to access that kind of content, will find ways to do so," he said.

Related:  

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Justices Alito, Thomas Invoke Victorian-Era Morality Law, Raising Censorship Concerns

Several national publications reported this week on widespread concern among Free Speech advocates after U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas repeatedly invoked during a hearing the infamous segregation-era law the Comstock Act, which was the cornerstone of U.S. censorship of sexual material from the 1870s until the 1970s.

Skinfluential Management's FansFuel Acquires Fanwire

Creator stats and affiliate marketing platform FansFuel has acquired creator account management tool Fanwire.

Nebraska AV Bill Moves Forward Despite Privacy, Free Speech Concerns

Nebraska’s unicameral Legislature has given first-round approval to LB 1092, the state’s version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists.

AEBN Celebrates 25th Anniversary

The Adult Entertainment Broadcast Network (AEBN) is celebrating its 25th year in business this week.

Performers in Meta Blacklisting Lawsuit Seek to Preserve Antitrust Claims

Adult Performance Artists Guild board officers Alana Evans, Kelly Pierce and Ruby have informed a California court that, although they want to drop their lawsuit claiming that Meta conspired with OnlyFans to blacklist rival premium fan platforms’ talent, they may still pursue antitrust claims in the future.

FSC, Co-Plaintiffs to Ask US Supreme Court to Review Constitutionality of Texas Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) and its co-plaintiffs in the challenge to Texas’ controversial age verification law have petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to stay its recent decision upholding the law, because they intend to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to review the law’s constitutionality.

FSC Vows to Fight Florida Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has issued a statement vowing to continue fighting Florida’s new age verification law, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday as part of a comprehensive bill targeting minors’ use of social media.

Kansas Republican Aims to Create New Bureaucracy to 'Investigate' Porn Websites

Republican state legislators succeeded Monday in moving forward Kansas’ version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists, despite serious concerns raised by House Democrats about the cost of establishing a new bureaucracy tasked with investigating websites for pornographic content.

SK Intertainment Launches 'Skinfluential Management' Agency, FansFuel Joint Venture

Mr. Skin/Mr. Man parent company SK Intertainment has launched new creator agency Skinfluential Management, as well as a new joint venture with Showbizz Media's creator stats and affiliate marketing platform, FansFuel.

Industry Attorney, Free Speech Champion Clyde DeWitt Passes Away at 75

Noted industry attorney Clyde DeWitt passed away on Friday in Las Vegas at 75, according to friends and colleagues.

Show More