Iceland Wants To Ban Web Porn

Iceland, where porn has long been technically illegal, wants to block all internet pornography even though web experts warn that such a move will likely cause many unrelated sites to be blocked as well.

The proposal by Interior Minister Ogmundur Jonasson has caused an uproar. Opponents say the move will censor the Web, encourage authoritarian regimes and undermine Iceland’s reputation as a Scandinavian bastion of free speech. Advocates say it is a sensible measure that will shelter children from serious harm. “When a 12-year-old types ‘porn’ into Google, he or she is not going to find photos of naked women out on a country field, but very hardcore and brutal violence,” said Halla Gunnarsdottir, political adviser to the interior minister. “There are laws in our society. Why should they not apply to the Internet?”  Gunnarsdottir says the proposals currently being drawn up by a committee of experts will not introduce new restrictions, but simply uphold an existing if vaguely worded law.

Iceland’s plan has won praise from Bryan Fischer. Of course.