Opt-in system to block online porn may be on the way
INTERNET companies may be forced to block graphic pornography sites that children can access, after a new initiative by Pat Rabbitte.
Under such a ‘opt-in’ filter, o bscene i mages easily accessed on the home computers, mobiles or tablets would be blocked in a similar way they are by television channel providers.
Parents and interested groups will be asked to have their say on whether they want the new filter system after the Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte
Similar to what was done in UK
opened public consultation on internet safety.
Plans to force internet companies to block graphic images from family homes could be adopted here, like has been done in the UK.
The Government-appointed Internet Content Governance Advisory Group is currently examining a range of issues including cyber-bullying and pornography. The panel of experts chaired by Dr Brian O’Neill of DIT will consider the emerging issues in the area of online content and its general impact on the lives of children and young people.
Among their terms of reference is the proposal to follow recently introduced rules in other jurisdictions to ‘request that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) block access by default to certain age-inappropriate but otherwise legal material’.
They will take submissions from the public and interested groups, and will produce a report in May with specific recommendations about the need for guidelines and legislation.
Members of the public and interested parties can submit their views until the end of February on the to the Department of Communication website. Questions posed include ‘ Is there a role for the State in regulating internet content?’ and ‘Are existing arrangements for regulation of internet industries adequate? If not, what additional arrangements are needed for internet content governance and better internet safety?’.
There are six questions in total. Meanwhile, the Dáil yesterday considered a report carried out by the Transport and Communications Committee into the growth of social media. Chairman of the committee, John O’Mahony, urged Mr Rabbitte to consider proposals that would apply across borders. He told the Dáil: ‘One difficulty in dealing with this issue is that technology i s changing and being upgraded so rapidly that by the time one problem is addressed, another presents in a manner not envisaged even a few months earlier.’
Mr O’Mahony said many children under the prescribed age are opening accounts on social
‘Parents must be better informed’
media sites despite age restrictions. He said: ‘These accounts are often opened with the assistance of parents, sometimes unwittingly. The idea is that parents must be better informed and educated in a better way, including of their responsibilities in this area.
‘The joint committee also recommends that the child protection guidelines incorporate guidance for all professionals working with children to aid them if they encounter issues relating to cyber-bullying and the inappropriate use of social media. This includes all sections of the Garda, teachers, youth workers and so on’.
In response the Communications Minister acknowledged that online and social media are no longer a fringe concern.
He said: ‘Widespread internet access has given people great power... It should not surprise us that there are those who would misuse or abuse this power. Such is human nature.
‘That is not to say that while we cannot, and indeed should not, attempt to regulate the Internet in a formal way, we should not shirk from looking at existing or new tools in a rational and coherent way to see if we can make improvements’.
Mr Rabbitte urged interested parties to engage with the advisory group. He said: ‘The issues are complex and involve balancing fundamental and constitutional rights with the protection of children and young people.’