The British public is in favour of stricter regulation of pornography, according to new polling commissioned by Christian social policy charity CARE.
Key findings from the poll indicate:
- 70 per cent of respondents support the appointment of a Pornography Commission to ensure the removal of illegal or violent porn from websites and social media.
- 80 per cent believe that directors of companies owning porn sites should be held accountable for illegal material on their platforms and face penalties such as fines or imprisonment.
- 75 per cent think that social media site directors should also be held responsible for illegal material on their platforms and face similar penalties.
- 60 per cent agree that laws governing pornography should be consistent for content viewed offline (like DVDs) and online content (such as major porn sites).
Support was consistently higher among female respondents for each question.
Louise Davies MBE, director of advocacy and policy at CARE, said: “This polling shows strong support for tougher action on porn. The internet is awash with illegal content. Child sexual abuse material is no longer hidden away on the dark web; it is found on mainstream websites. Non-consensual and abusive material is also prevalent. We urgently need to appoint a Pornography Commissioner to ensure that vile content can be reported and removed.
“The public also wants to see site owners held to account if they fail to remove illegal and harmful content. In Canada and America, women have taken court action against sites that published explicit material without their consent. People should not be forced to defend themselves. The Government needs to hold owners and directors of websites accountable and punish businesses that continue to platform illegal material.”
The poll comes as an independent Pornography Review is ongoing, with a public call for evidence to inform the review closing on Thursday. The review will investigate gaps in the law which allow online exploitation and abuse. It also aims to identifying barriers to enforcing criminal law on the matter.
