Pornography
Utah – Utah considering law to block porn on phones
The governor of Utah is considering signing a bill that would make pornography filters mandatory and switched on by default on cell phones sold in Utah to prevent users from accessing or downloading material that is harmful to minors,” which includes pornography. Adults would be provided a passcode to deactivate the filters if they choose. The Utah law would take effect Jan. 1, 2022 if passed. Utah would be the first state to mandate pornography filters for minors if the bill passes. There are countless heart-breaking stories of the harm caused by children’s unhindered access to Internet devices—including the individual and familial trauma of pornography exposure and addiction and adult predators targeting and grooming kids online. More
Russia – Russia threatens to block Twitter in a month
Russian authorities said they would block Twitter if it doesn’t take steps to remove banned content. Russia’s state communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, last week announced it was slowing down the speed of uploading photos and videos to Twitter over its alleged failure to remove content encouraging suicide among children and information about drugs and child pornography. Deputy chief of Roskomnadzor Vadim Subbotin argued Twitter has failed to remove more than 3,000 posts with banned content, including more than 2,500 posts encouraging suicide among minors. The platform responded by emphasizing its policy of zero tolerance for child sexual exploitation. Twitter doesn’t react to our requests appropriately, and if things go on like this, then it will be blocked, on an out-of-court basis. More
Canada – Lawmakers call for criminal investigation of MindGeek
More than 70 parliamentarians are calling for a full criminal investigation into Pornhub’s parent company following testimony from survivors. The demand, comes two weeks after a similar request by more than 100 victims of exploitive content they say was posted to websites owned by MindGeek. The lawmakers cite recent evidence by victims and child-protection organizations alleging the Montreal-based company regularly shared child pornography and sexual assault videos as well as content shot or posted without the consent of subjects. Even more alarming is evidence that MindGeek continues to make available material featuring child sexual abuse material and non-consensual acts. At least five lawsuits have been filed against the company in the U.S. and Canada over the past year on behalf of survivors of child abuse, sex trafficking and non-consensual image uploads. More
UK – Pornography causing disrespect for girls
Dandy Doherty, a woman who was sexually abused and raped as a child, speaks out on the website, Everyone’s Invited, about her experience. More than 14,000 allegations have now been made by school pupils on the website, which is gathering testimonies of sexual violence and abuse. General secretary of the National Education Union, Mary Bousted told Sky News the behaviour of schoolchildren has been “corrupted” and “gone back” due to social media and access to pornography. Teachers in our service argue that they were unsure about how to deal with it and if they stop to deal with it they would never get any teaching done. They need a national programme to help schools tackle this behaviour. More
Malaysia – Child abuse and the pandemic
Most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is the system of family and social relationships, and the change is not limited to distancing. Children who are forced to stay at home day in and day out are doubly hit. Reports confirm that the lockdowns and various forms of community quarantine have exacerbated the abuses that many children suffer. This happened despite several laws passed by previous Congresses and Presidents, all upholding the rights of children. The Department of Social Welfare and Development, which is chair of the Inter-Agency Council against Child Pornography, has urged its local counterparts in cities and towns all over the country to pull their resources and personnel together to mount a serious offensive against pornography on the internet, some materials of which involved children. More