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Polish PM unveils plan to block kids’ access to online porn

17.12.2019 07:50
Poland’s prime minister has announced an all-encompassing effort to prevent children from accessing porn online.
Polands Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Family, Labour and Social Policy Minister Marlena Maląg give a news conference in Warsaw on Monday.
Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Family, Labour and Social Policy Minister Marlena Maląg give a news conference in Warsaw on Monday.Photo: PAP/Marcin Obara

Mateusz Morawiecki said legislation would be introduced by his government, based on a proposal worked out by family policy experts, in a bid to “protect children and young people from access to pornographic material and content, just as we shield them from alcohol and drugs.”

Under the new rules, websites providing pornographic material would be required to check the age of internet users, he said on Monday.

“We have to impose strict requirements on businesses and entities providing pornographic content,” Morawiecki added.

He argued that a similar system “is already widely used in video-on-demand (VOD)” services.

Morawiecki also said he hoped the proposal would be supported by groups across the political spectrum because “it serves the mental health of children and society as a whole.”

Family Minister Marlena Maląg said she wanted the bill to be adopted by lawmakers in the first half of next year.

Almost 60 percent of Polish boys and over 20 percent of girls aged 14 to 16 admit to viewing pornography, according to a survey cited by Poland’s PAP news agency.

(gs/pk)

Source: PAP