Iceland: Internet Porn Ban

Reykjavik, Iceland

Porn ban: Iceland is considering installing Internet filters to block Icelanders from viewing porn. If that ban goes ahead as expected this spring, the country will be the first Western democracy to attempt to censor the Internet. Iceland already forbids the creation and distribution of print pornography, and in the past few months a national consensus has emerged that pornography is harmful to the women who perform in it and promotes sexist or even violent attitudes in men. Installing appropriate filters could be tricky, but Halla Gunnarsdottir of the Interior Ministry is convinced it can be done. “Surely if we can send a man to the moon,” she said, “we must be able to tackle porn on the Internet.”