Puritanical campaigns against pornography risk online freedom
and innovation
The adult entertainment industry pioneered internet innovations
like online payment systems, fraud prevention, copyright
protection, and content moderation.
Internet regulation targeted at adult content risks undermining
foundational internet principles like free speech, privacy and
innovation.
Overregulation risks pushing users to less controlled and secure
environments.
A more collaborative approach involving governments, industry,
civil society and technical experts is needed to clamp down on
illicit activity while protecting internet freedom.
The UK’s Online Safety Act will mandate age verification to
prevent children from accessing pornography, requiring users to
enter their driver’s licences, passports or providing biometric
information.
But a new report from the European Policy Information Center
(EPICENTER), in conjunction with the free market think tank the
Institute of Economic Affairs, says age verification seriously
threatens user privacy. It warns that “mandatory age verification
could significantly increase the amount of sensitive data held by
third parties and the frequency at which it is collected,
exposing users to privacy breaches and abuse.”
The report also says that effective age verification is
“practically impossible” due to the many tools that will enable
users to circumvent controls. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)
usage in Britain surged after internet service providers began
introducing adult content filters in 2013. This bypassing of
controls could inadvertently direct “traffic towards less
regulated and less secure platforms, thereby exacerbating risks”.
Giacomo Lev Mannheimer, report author and Research Fellow at the
Bruno Leoni Institute, warns of “politicians’ tendency to promise
the impossible without fully understanding the dynamics of what
they are trying to regulate and without giving sufficient
consideration to the side-effects of the proposed
solutions.”
This comes amid harsh new regulation of pornography across
individual European countries and the European Union’s Digital
Services Act. Mannheimer stresses that while regulation is needed
to tackle illegal content, it should minimise the risk of
compromising user privacy and freedom of expression.
“Pornography, as long as it is consensual, is a phenomenal form
of entertainment and should not receive different treatment from
other forms of entertainment,” Mannheimer writes.
The report also highlights the positive role of the adult
entertainment industry in developing internet innovations,
including online payment, fraud prevention, copyright protection,
and content moderation systems.
It recommends a collaborative approach among governments,
industry, and civil society to regulate pornography and crack
down on illegal content without stifling innovation or violating
privacy.
Report author and Research Fellow at the Bruno Leoni
Institute, Giacomo Lev Mannheimer, said:
"The age verification mandate within the Online Safety Act
poses a significant threat to privacy and user freedom by
creating a database linking individual identities with adult
content consumption. Hopefully, Ofcom’s code of conduct about age
verification will take into account these concerns.
“Improper regulation of adult content undermines the internet
as a hub of unparalleled freedom and innovation. Policymakers
must strike a balance by tackling illicit activities while
safeguarding user privacy, free expression, and digital
innovation.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
You can download a copy of ‘The XXX Factor: Internet
Freedom Hinges on Pornography’.
