News by email Donate

Suggestions

Top Stories

Most Read

Popular Videos

bishop-peter-forster-main_article_image.jpg
REX/Andrew Price
UK News

Bishop calls for 'culture change' on pornography

Rt Rev Peter Forster, who's sitting in the House of Lords this week, is worried the proposals don't go far enough.

It's been confirmed age checks will not apply to all online pornography fuelling fears at Westminster that children will still stumble across explicit content.

The verification regime aimed at denying access to under-18s, due to come into force next Easter, will not cover social media sites, such as Twitter, which could host user-generated adult material.

Free sites, where pornography makes up less than a third of overall content, will also be exempt, peers heard.

The House of Lords were debating regulations that will introduce the first system of its kind in the world, requiring commercial pornographic websites to have "robust age verification controls" in place to prevent children accessing explicit material.

REX/Image Broker

But a number of members raised concerns over the limitations of the scheme and the Government has conceded it is "not a complete answer" to the problem.

Speaking in the debate, the bishop said: "My main concern is in relation to access to pornography on websites which don't charge for access.

"Provided their pornographic content is limited to one third of their total content, they are exempted from these regulations."

He said: "What's the rationale for choosing one third and not, say, 10%?

"Parents really don't want their children to stumble across online pornography and arguably children are more likely to stumble across it if it is a website that doesn't charge in the first place."

The bishop added: "I realise that enforcement against every site would be a challenge, but surely the obligation to use access by age verification should be upon all sites which promote pornography.

"What we need is a culture change in relation to child protection, not a partial and piecemeal and limited approach, which I fear these regulations in some respects have."

(Additional reporting from Press Association)

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate