I can't get wound up over this. It was always going to be the case that governments would eventually try to rein in the internet. Its long been a massive elephant in the room - too technical to police on a practical level, too big to confront in any substantial way. But I then see quotes like this:
"Porn is the right of every free, adult citizen in the UK. It is not something we should have to ask permission for. This is the latest move from a colossal fuckhead, and his government of fuckheads."
and,
"Didn't the UK suffer BOMBING RUNS from fascists like Cameron?
You'd think, after killing enough Nazis, that they'd have been wiped out."
This does wind me up. Nothing undermines a protest greater than rabid hyperbole.
So first things first: tell me, how this is a ban on pornography? The option to keep viewing adult material is still there, it's just that you have to opt in to do so. It'll be as difficult as ticking a single box on an internet application form. This is just a small restriction that makes it harder for adolescents to gain access to pornographic material (thus enforcing a law against something which was always illegal). Complaining about this scheme is like complaining about how they moved adult mags to the top shelves of the magazine racks and slapped brown bags on them. Trying to take things out of the reach of children is not the same as banning it.
"But it won't work". I can see it making it harder for kids to obtain pornography. Parents can't know what their kids are doing on the internet in their room unless they physically stand and watch them at all times. With this, they can at least have a chance of making it harder for them. I don't know how providers will distinguish between adult content and non-adult sites, they might make a complete hash of it, but it could be effective. It beats doing nothing at all.
They're just screaming "THINK OF THE CHILDREN", amiright? Perhaps, but I can see the reasoning behind the concern. There is a very real risk that the more children familiarize themselves with pornographic material, the more casual they may feel about taking part in the behaviour displayed. Child grooming and paedophilia is rampant on the net. Go to one of the chans and at any one time, you'll find someone bragging about how they coaxed underage "camwhores" into taking off their clothes. If a child grows up in an environment where porn and sex are so casual that you can partake in it anytime, the temptation and tendency to do so will increase. Meanwhile, in regards to boys, we as a culture we are trying to gravitate away from the notion that women should live by their image, and that they should not be stereotyped as sexually objects. If from an early age, kids are seeing all evidence to the contrary, that progressive view isn't going to come along so well.
"But maninahat, kids can watch violent movies and play violent games and it doesn't mean they are going to become killers." True, but there are a couple of differences. Firstly, it takes a lot more to become a killer than to flash your tits on a camera. Responsible societies already take steps to avoid kids getting hold of deadly weapons or engaging in violent behaviour, so why shouldn't similar steps be taken with porn? The second difference is that whilst murder is almost universally seen as terrible, many people see no problem with sex whatsoever. Reasonable people will draw a line beyond enjoying violent entertainment, because they know the real life version is terrible - but with the sex industry, the emphasis is on taking part - people want to be sexually active and have lots of fun, whilst porn is a kind of wish fulfillment that almost seems plausible, because you only technically need consenting people to make it happen. I'm not saying sex and porn in itself is wrong - that's not what I am taking issue with - the issue is that promiscuity should be a thing for people at a responsible age. Pregnancy, STDs, public humiliation, rape; there are a huge number of life affecting issues connected to sex, and people need to go into it when they are ready to face those consequences. An 11 year old is not ready.