British PM announces crackdown on online porn

London, July 23: British Prime Minister David Cameron has declared war on online pornography, calling for a safer internet for children.

Cameron Monday warned that access to online porn was "corroding childhood", and urged internet companies to act to block access to child abuse images, Xinhua reported.

"I want to talk about the internet, the impact it is having on the innocence of our children, how online pornography is corroding childhood and how, in the darkest corners of the internet, there are things going on that are a direct danger to our children, and that must be stamped out," the prime minster said.

He warned internet giants they could face tough new laws if they fail to blacklist key search terms from horrific images by this October.

Cameron unveiled a series of measures to reduce access to pornography with a particular focus on images of child sexual abuse.

They include:

-- Possession of "extreme pornography", which includes scenes of simulated rape, is to be outlawed.

-- The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center (CEOP) is to draw up a blacklist of "abhorrent" internet search terms to identify and prevent paedophiles searching for illegal material.

-- All police forces will work with a single secure database of illegal images of children to help "close the net on paedophiles".

-- Children are to be protected by automatic filtering of adult material.

-- Illegal image searches to be blocked.

Cameron also outlined steps to subject video streamed online in Britain to same restrictions as those sold in shops.

Based on his plan, internet service providers will introduce a "default on" filters that will oblige homeowners to "opt in" to receive sexually graphic materials.

The filters will be automatically enable for new customers setting up broadband accounts or switching providers unless a request is made to disable it.

IANS