Minister of the Interior Ögmundur Jónasson wants to assess how the distribution of pornography in Iceland can be banned, including the possible blocking of foreign porn sites.
DV reports that the minister has assembled a work group that will be given the task of examining how Icelandic police could stop the distribution of pornography. This could possibly include blocking the IP addresses of known pornographic websites, or pressuring internet service providers to block access to such sites.
Ögmundur defended the idea to Morgunblaðið, saying that the possible ban would not be censorship.
“I want to give the committee the task of examining the legal definition of pornography,” he said. “At the same time, the plan includes examining what measures the police can take to enforce the law and limit access to pornography.”
Article 210 of the Icelandic Penal Code states that the publication, import and distribution of pornography in Iceland is illegal, and punishable by up to six months in prison. However, the law was written before internet pornography existed.
“I am not fond of bans and I support freedom of expression,” Ögmundur said. “But at the same time, I want to prevent access to a industry which profits from abusing people.”
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