Oz lad mags fight porn ban call

Sydney, April 06(ANI): The publishers of adult magazines in Australia have slammed the recommendation of child experts asking for a ban on the sale of the so-called lad mags at places accessible to kids.

A coalition of child experts had written to censorship ministers calling for tighter restrictions on the display of magazines with adult content at milk bars, convenience stores, supermarkets and petrol stations.

ACP Magazines, which publishes magazines such as Ralph, FHM and Zoo, insists that the current restrictions which demand explicit titles to be put in plastic covers and limited sales to those over 18 are adequate.

"We have no issue with a stricter approach to enforcement but we see no need for the bans being proposed," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Scott Briggs, manager of regulatory affairs at PBL Media, the company that owns ACP, as saying.

He mentioned that the children had a far easier access to pornography online.

He added: "You don't have to go too hard to find it on the internet, and to regulate one aspect of the media without any plans for the other is just a bit naive [if we] think that's going to make any impact on people's access to pornography."

Any change to classification rules would require the support of state and territory censorship ministers, who meet regularly at the standing committee of attorneys-general. (ANI)