Experts doubt technical feasibility of child porn ban

New Delhi/Bengaluru, August 10:  Even as the government told the Supreme Court on Monday that it was against child pornography and was committed to curbing such abuse on the internet, experts feel it will be technically challenging, if not difficult, to block it altogether. “The government’s intention to ban child pornography is good. But not feasible. It is technically difficult. It should find how other countries like Chi and the US have dealt with this mece,” Swarup Sampath, computer instructor, Bengaluru Training Academy, told IANS. Rajan S. Mathews, director general, Cellular Operators’ Association of India, also told IANS that the government’s licencing agreement with the service providers bind them to the directives of the Department of Telecom on the matter. “As far as the intermediaries are concerned, the operators can have secondary liability,” Mathews said, referring to the internet service providers (ISPs), including mobile phone operators, who provide Net access to the customers. “If DoT comes out with any such notifications, then we are bound to follow that,” he said, but added that the government has to be specific. The government had earlier asked the ISPs to block 857 Web sites which were suspected to have pornographic elements. Later the government issued a clarificatory note and said while they were free to decide on blocking these sites, child pornographic content must be blacked out. During the hearing in the apex court on Monday, the government counsel said while a ban on child pornography sites was desired, the concerned agencies were uble to go beyond that and don the role of moral policing. Addressing the apex court bench headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said the state cannot be present in every household to check what people watch in private, and interfere with their entertainment. (IANS)