HLE blogger Felicity Gerry wonders how we can protect children online
"In the week that many parents will have to explain why a stripper was put through on Britain’s Got Talent rather than a female impressionist, there has been much publicity on the idea of opt-in pornography and whether this would be an effective way of protecting children from accessing indecent images online.
Aside from the issues surrounding how this would be implemented, the main question is whether internet regulation is necessary at all.
Most parents and carers will have had their fair share of discussions regarding the downloading of inappropriate images. Sexual development is normal and every modern parent will have to deal with this at some point.
The question that is being asked on a more regular basis is should there be greater regulation of the media, or will children learn appropriate sexual conduct under their own steam with guidance from parents, carers and teachers?
The latest suggestion is that internet service providers should supply a “clean” broadband feed to customers as standard with the choice to opt-in to receive adult content.
The parliamentary
