Slashdot Mirror
Germany Wants To Put Time Limits On Porn
nappster writes: "According to this article (sorry, it's in German), Germany thinks it can control the Internet, so now it's considering requiring that porn sites restrict their hours to 11pm to 6am. Exactly how they will coerce sites operating outside Germany is not explained, hence the term 'imbecility' that some have used to describe this proposal." Swim through the German with the Fish.
I mean Germany trying to take control beyond its borders... that's sooo twentieth century. Next we're going to here that France is going to "surrender" to this.
My great fear is that every country in the world is going to pass its own version of a "decency" law, then attempt to require the conformance of every other country in the world. Soon enough, the Internet will have been watered down to contain only that content which is deemed acceptable, world-wide.
One of the great challenges our world faces over the next century is our ability to accept a global Internet/marketplace, and yet maintain some semblance of independent societies, complete with our own mores and values.
The pomposity of the professor is inversely proportional to the difficulty and importance of the subject being taught.
The german parliament should remember to notify all search engines that cache images to shut off access to those images during those hours.
Are these hours affected by daylight savings time? It is important that the German farmers have a chance to get their porn during darkness like the rest of the entire German nation.
If a webserver is put in a balloon and is sent to different timezones where it is always day, should the site still be shut down during German nighttime?
They should also remind German porn kings not to move their sites to a different country.
What happens if the text of the website is educational, and is served from a German server, but there happens to be one picture of a sweet nude lady, but the image is on a foreign server?
These are serious issues that the parliament must deal with from the hours of 9 AM to 11 PM only.
I read this piece of "NEWS" (ix.de reported this item last week(Use the fish)), and promplty filled my nose with coffee.
To clarify: the main reason for this so called "Sendezeitbegrenzung" from 11 pm to 6am is the childrens protection act. ( Will somebody please think about the children :-)). It seems some of our politicians haven't greeped the fact that Germany isn't the navel of the world anymore.
In essence this new Law the "Jugendmedienschutz-Staatsvertrag (JMStV)," proposes to extend the youth protection laws allready in place for Radio and TV to the Internet. ( Think FCC for Internet for the North-Americans on /.). So this will be another try, to censor content or to restrict the access to information on the internet. But we all know, how effectfull the earlier tries have been.
I'm sure everybody knews how resourcefull 6-18 year olds can be at getting the po^H^Hinformation one wants.
... whenever a text is transmitted, variation occurs. This is because human beings are careless, fallible, and occasiona
what with time zones being all different and that. however, I have a solution.
We flatten the earth. yup. flatten it. With German industrial ingenuity it shouldn't be a big problem. then we all have roughly the same sunrise and sunset times, therefore allowing germany to restrict opening times in line with other net-opressive nations (Australia - Richard Alston take note)
Of course, how exactly are they going to define "porn", and then how are they going to patrol the net to enforce the whole thing?
It could, of course, be the end to World Unemployment - just give every unemployed person a net connection and ask them to rate porn sites for the German government. SIGN ME UP! I'll quit my job now.
Screw you all! I'm off to the pub
www.germanpr0n.com
.......
login:h0rnyN4zi
password:xxxxx*x
Gutentag!
I am being very sorry, but it is currently only 3:30 PM where you are being located. This is meaning that we are not able to be serving you any pr0n until it is being 11 PM your time. Please, it is still early, so going out and trying to get laid, if you are unable to being laid, you may visit us at 11 PM where we will serving you many a good pr0n!
-- Dan
Of course all this doesn't invalidate the previous posters comments about other countries' lawmaking abilities in the tech sector...
-- H. Wilker
Then come the commercials that get me. They are ubiquitous and leave absolutely nothing to the imagination for what you get calling the 0190 (extra-toll) and 00 (international) telephone numbers. Btw, I know what the original poster means about "perverted", it seems that the qualification to appear as a model on one of these ads is to be anything but normal looking!!!
I don't object to porn on the net because it doesn't interrupt 'normal viewing' you have to click the URL and it is usually clear what you are getting (apart from Goatsex, don't click this one). Well maybe if VA Software get desperate and start some pop-ups in slashdot for extra funding - then we could be worried.
The last point is why restrict the time slots, many kids over the age of 14 have a computer in their room and I don't want to give them another reason to break curfew and stay up late. It is bad enough with them playing computer games until all hours!!!
Moderators Please Note: The above goatsex link is actually on topic for once!!!!
See my journal, I write things there
You also don't seem to realise that when they're talking about pr0n in Germany, they mean hardcore, as in "penetration". There's nekkid tits on all kinds of magazines, on TV ads, on billboards.
Of course the idea is unworkable, as are most politicians' ideas whenever they wat to "protect" people from themselves. This too shall pass. Move along. Nothing to see here.
woof.
Have you ever noticed that when someone wants a restrictive law, it's always a restriction on someone else? The inevitable excuse is always that someone *else* is being "protected". You and I are smart enough and capable enough to take care of ourselvesand our families, but those other people need protection from themselves.
Agreement with protection of children and young people in the Internet
Federation and countries agreed after one year's negotiation on principles for the protection of children and young people in the InterNet. The measures to temporal limitations for youth-endangering contents encounter criticism. On the corner points the bosses of the state and Senatskanzleien of the countries and the boss of the Office of the Federal Chancellor, franc walter stone Meier agreed, on Thursday in Berlin. The paper is present the Financial Times Germany. Basically the countries are to be responsible for the protection of children and young people in the media. The federation reserves itself rights of codetermination. The introduction of a " positive Ratings for harmless supplies " is suggested, which rejects the economy as " vorzensur ". The paper is to become basis for a youth medium protectorate contract (JMStV). On portals such as T-Online on Erotik pages without sufficient acces protection one link, says peace man Schindler of the Mainzer authority protection of children and young people.net. It expects now a stronger printing on the contents contents of to banish references to Sex supplies in the virtual Hinterzimmer.
Not youth-free contents only in certain times
According to the paper youth-free contents might not be made common " or accessible " only between 23 o'clock and 6 o'clock, if no " pre and free check techniques " are installed. Such demands were not practicably called of experts so far. " we can check not all contents in the network ", said Arthur Waldenberger, Vorstand of the freiwilligen self-check Multimedia (FSM). That is in view of billions on the part of " imbecility ". The fact that the self-check is to be subject to a " sovereign certifying " by a " commission for the youth medium protection " is not acceptable " ".
Experts reject sections
Also InterNet experts of the Bundestag factions reject sections of the arrangement. " the youth medium protection is already monastery suited compared with other countries almost in Germany ", says the medium-political speaker of the FDP, Hans Joachim petrol. It is too simply, itself after land woman manners " bigott over the dirt " consumed by million Germans too ereifern. Erotik providers are the only on-line industry, which writes black numbers. Also the SPD wants to put " dinosaur discussions forward over transmitting time delimitations and license obligations " for the InterNet a latch plate, said Joerg Tauss, representative for new media of the SPD. The corner points are not consentable.
Security through promiscuity is no better than security through obscurity.
I am not a fan of porn </understatement>), but folks, this is Germany. Ever been there? i have. I visited several small towns and one moderately large city. Every bookstore and newstand had a large selection of pornographic magazines. In the small town I stayed in, I noted one that featured people in sexual situations in the magazine rack at a toy and school supply store. Think about it - hardcore porn in a store for children in a small town. The newspaper featured frontal nudity most days - sometimes relevant to a story, sometimes not. MTV videos contained nudity.
:)
In short, I think the German politicians (or whoever) that are proposing this can't be taken seriously. I think it would be roughly analagous to US senators declaring that images of people in swimsuits should be outlawed. No one would take them seriously, in the sense that no one would think that it could actually happen. It would be a rhetorical ploy with some other political goal in mind.
P.S. This is why you should travel..so you can spout inane drivel on slashdot and sound like you know what you're talking about
But people don't mind TV shows on cable, or movies, or web sites, which have some sort of violent content? (Or at least, they don't seem to mind it as much.) Any time during the day, I can turn on the TV and see a man get shot. I can go on the Internet to a mainstream site (like download.com, for example) and download a violent video game. But god forbid my kids get access to porn.
Uh, am I on the only person on the face of the Earth who would rather get laid than shot?
I'm the stranger...posting to