Christian policy group CARE has welcomed amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill that will toughen up laws surrounding online pornography.
The amendments will require that those appearing in online pornography are proven to be of legal age and are given the right to have any content featuring them removed at any point.
Additionally, the law will ban incest pornography as well as pornography that mimics child abuse, for example by featuring someone of legal age acting as a minor.
CARE described these changes as “monumental steps forward” in regulating online pornography. The group has previously stated that the regulation of online pornography has severely lagged behind regulation of more terrestrial mediums. The group has been campaigning for the regulation of online pornography since 1994.
The amendments will be considered by the House of Commons and after that are expected to go back to the Lords before receiving Royal Ascent.
Caroline Ansell, Director of Policy and Advocacy at CARE, said, “But today, a line is being drawn in the sand, people are starting to see what we knew in 1994, online content that fuels the abuse and violent sexualisation of children and women should not be allowed.
"People are starting to realise the harm that has been inflicted on society by freely available and unregulated porn online. The fight does not stop here. We will continue to campaign for greater regulation of an industry that harms women and girls across the UK and I urge MPs to back these changes today in the Commons."
The Crime and Policing Bill has proved something of a mixed bag for Christians. While CARE has welcomed tougher laws on online pornography, other amendments have received a far less favourable Christian response.
Most notoriously the bill now includes an amendment that would decriminalise abortion up to the point of birth, while earlier this week a range of faith leaders expressed concern at a new clause that could undermine the right to protest.
As it the Lords' amendments were considered in the Commons this week, Tory MP Sir Edward Leigh said it was "appalling that abortion up to 39 weeks is being decriminalised, without the proper evidence or scrutiny".
"Is it not a terrible indictment of our society that a human life can be taken when it is about to be born, at 39 weeks, and that there should be a free pardon in such a serious case?" he said.
