Pornography (Hansard, 24 July 2002)

§ Mr. Weir
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to use technology similar to that which the Government are introducing to stop tobacco advertising on the web to stop the advertising of pornographic material on the web. [69434]

§ Mr. Hilary Benn
There are no plans to use technology to stop tobacco advertising on the web. The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill before Parliament at the moment will, if passed, make the advertising of tobacco products a criminal offence in most circumstances. The offence could be committed by advertising a tobacco product over the web, just as it could be committed in 1533W other circumstances, as the law applies equally online as offline. It is already a criminal offence to advertise pornographic material featuring children.
As regards material which may be legal but offensive to many people, the Government supports the development of tools, such as the rating and filtering system operated by the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA), to encourage Internet users to regulate their own Internet experience or that of their children.

§ Mr. Weir
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take powers to require(a) pornographic sites and (b) emails advertising pornography to be clearly identifiable as to their nature. [69436]

§ Mr. Hilary Benn
The Government believes that a range of methods is required to provide parents and other Internet users with a way of exercising choice about what kind of material they and their children have access to.
Easy to use rating and filtering systems, such as that operated by the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA), have an important role to play as does greater public awareness of simple measures which can be taken to protect personal information and help avoid unwanted e-mails (SPAM).
These issues are being considered by a Sub Group of the Task Force on Child Protection on the Internet which was established in March 2001 by my right hon. Friend the then Home Secretary (Mr. Straw). The Task Force is a partnership of: representatives from internet service and communication providers; the Internet Watch Foundation (which provides a hotline for the public to report child pornography); PC and software retailers and manufacturers; child welfare organisations; the main opposition parties; law enforcement agencies and academics. Among other things, the Task Force is looking at good practice models for providers of chat services, instant messaging and web services which will promote the use of clear and accessible safety advice and better signposting of content.
The problem of SPAM including those containing pornography is also being considered by the Sub-Group.