MEPs to vote on EU 'ban on all forms of pornography'

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolog...rnography.html

MEPs to vote on EU 'ban on all forms of pornography'

MEPs will next week vote on a "ban on all forms of pornography" including censorship of the internet in a bid to "eliminate gender stereotypes" that demean women.

MEPs will next week vote on a "ban on all forms of pornography" including censorship of the internet in a bid to "eliminate gender stereotypes" that demean women.

Controversy has erupted over next Tuesday's European Parliament resolution "on eliminating gender stereotypes in the EU", meant to mark international women's day, after libertarian Swedish MEPs from the Pirate Party spotted the call for a ban in the small print.

While not legally binding, the vote could be the first step towards European legislation as the EU's assembly increasingly flexes its political muscle within Europe's institutions.

The proposal "calls on the EU and its member states to take concrete action on discrimination against women in advertising... [with] a ban on all forms of pornography in the media".

Kartika Liotard, a Dutch left-wing feminist MEP, is seeking "statutory measures to prevent any form of pornography in the media and in advertising and for a ban on advertising for pornographic products and sex tourism", including measures in the "digital field".

The MEPs are also demanding the establishment of state sex censors with "a mandate to impose effective sanctions on companies and individuals promoting the sexualisation of girls".

Rick Falkvinge, the founder of the Swedish Pirate Party which campaigns for internet freedom and has MEPs, warned that there is "a clear majority in favour of this report, much because of its title and a belief that there's nothing odd about it".

"This horrendous attack on our fundamental freedoms of speech and expression needs action now," he wrote on his blog.

"This isn't the final vote in the legislative process; rather, it's the first vote in the legislative sausage machine ('what goes in, must come out'). Still, it is important to send a very clear message that this is unacceptable at first opportunity, or it will become a legislative proposal which is much harder to fight."

The parliament has added insult to injury for the civil liberties campaigners by blocking a flood of protest emails that was sent to MEPs as news of the ban vote emerged.

"This is an absolute disgrace, in my opinion. A parliament that views input from citizens on a current issue as spam, has very little democratic legitimacy in my opinion," said Christian Engstrom, a Pirate Party MEP.

A parliament offcial denied that protest emails had been deliberately blocked.

"In addition to its normal spam filters, the European Parliament has an alert system in case of an excessive influx of emails affecting the proper functioning of the email-system," he said.

"This system was triggered because of an enormous influx of mails. The measures are automatic and technical and independent of any content or sender."

A recent EU report urged tight press regulation and demanded that Brussels officials are given control of national media supervisors with new powers to enforce fines or the sacking of journalists.

The "high-level" recommendations, welcomed by the European Commission, backed the creation of EU supervised media regulators with "real enforcement powers, such as the imposition of fines, orders for printed or broadcast apologies, or removal of journalistic status."

Iceland is currently debating radical proposals that would make it the first Western democracy to attempt censorship of the internet by blocking online pornography.

The Icelandic government is considering introducing internet filters, such as those used to block China off form the worldwide web, in order to stop people downloading or viewing pornography on the internet.

The unprecedented censorship is justified by fears about damaging effects of the internet on children and women.

The vote is only symbolic (given that the EU 'parliament' isn't a real parliament at all) although you can see the direction it's being nudged towards. If you ask me, it's only a matter of time before Brussels and the Commission get their greasy paws and pick this proposed resolution up and implement it into law...... and we can't do anything about it. Unless we restore our national independence, of course.

But what did I say only last week?

More meddling, more patronising nannying. You would think the government would have more important things to concern itself with.

But you know, at least they're starting to be consistent - I mean, the Government is considering a 45p minimum tax on alcoholic units (which means the beginning of the end for cheap beers with the lads) and Iceland has become the first European country to start regulating or even banning internet pornography (yep, doubt that will be popular with younger lads). In New York, large soda bottles with pizza orders have been banned and salt has already been banned (no more cheap takeaway deals with friends or family with a cheap coke to wash it down with).

So cheer all you want, soon it'll be your freedoms they're coming for as I point out above. And for that, i'm laughing.

Looks like I spoke too soon.

Thoughts?

[Sian]

I'd like to know how it demeans women, considering a, all women in porn have chosen that job and b, there's a lot of men in porn?

Just bloody madness.

[xxMATTGxx]

I would understand if it was aimed at specific porn such as those sites that might be using people under the age of 18 but anything else should be allowed. If parents want to stop their kids from seeing such sites then there is many, many tools available that can censor the internet connection in their homes. Blocking does nothing - Remember when the ISP's were ordered to block The Pirate Bay? Illegal downloading even went higher or stayed near enough the same in the UK. It has no affect at all.

[FlyingJesus]

There's no real chance of anything coming out of this, it's essentially a way to appease the radical feminists who constantly lobby for all penises to be made illegal and who claim to be interested in letting women do what they want (as long as they want to do something anti-men, otherwise they're TRAITORS) but the reality is that these sorts of pressure groups have to be formally recognised as lunatics - which is why votes like this are important to have out in the open so they can be (quite rightly) publicly mocked.

[:Markster:]

Hahaha the people who made this really don't understand the amount of porn there is on the internet. The scope for this kind of "mission" is by far impossible to reach. Governments are banning things that are just silly. People don't realize that all the things that are being banned are banned because people are too lazy to block them off for individuals themselves. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I mean the cola banning with pizzas is just stupid. Parents should realize that if their kid is overweight they probably shouldn't take them to KFC for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And yes, if you start talking about metabolism and blah blah blah then let me tell you, having worked at McDonalds for a summer, the amount of people i saw there with kids that are just fat is ridiculous. I mean it's not that difficult to make your kid a nutritional home cooked meal. If I can do it, anyone can... As far as pornographic material goes, come on, sex is a natural part of life and I guess that it's easier to learn about it from a computer screen at home rather than from Sex Ed. class at school, though it's probably less educational, i mean how often does a pizza guy or a plumber get laid in real life...

[GommeInc]

Last I checked pornography didn't just involve women, or did I miss the memo where all porn is lesbian porn?

[AlexJRiley]

That would make jerking off so boring.

[FlyingJesus]

Last I checked pornography didn't just involve women, or did I miss the memo where all porn is lesbian porn?

According to these idiots, all porn involving women is degrading to the entire gender and all of the women involved are brainwashed and abused. It's quite hilarious that the same feminists who claim that women are strong and empowered also constantly claim that women have no power and can't think or act for themselves. One of the most mental (and unfortunately influential) feminists of our time is Catherine MacKinnon who genuinely believes that all heterosexual acts are rape, which naturally anyone sane will completely and utterly disagree with

[GommeInc]

According to these idiots, all porn involving women is degrading to the entire gender and all of the women involved are brainwashed and abused. It's quite hilarious that the same feminists who claim that women are strong and empowered also constantly claim that women have no power and can't think or act for themselves. One of the most mental (and unfortunately influential) feminists of our time is Catherine MacKinnon who genuinely believes that all heterosexual acts are rape, which naturally anyone sane will completely and utterly disagree with

So in short, neo-feminists shouldn't have idiots as their spokeswomen? If women are getting involved in porn then it is their choice, claiming they are brain washed is absurd just because they do not agree with the principles of porn. Feminists are a dying breed these days, fighting for inequality more than equality. They just seem like a load of aged, jumped up radicals with bees in their bonnets.