Governments globally have long been confronted with the complex task of shielding children from encountering explicit content on the internet. The prevalence of pornography across various online platforms, combined with children's inquisitiveness and extensive screen time on devices, poses a formidable challenge to authorities striving to restrict access to such material. The concern primarily lies in how exposure to porn shapes the understanding of sex and relationships among younger adolescents, potentially fostering degrading attitudes towards women.
Despite numerous efforts, governments have struggled to implement meaningful barriers to prevent children from accessing online porn adequately. A recent initiative by the federal government aims to address this issue as part of a broader strategy to combat gender-based violence, acknowledging the urgency of mitigating the impact of pornographic content on youth. Various pilot programs are anticipated to explore different approaches, given the absence of a definitive solution due to the sheer volume and accessibility of online porn.
Research indicates that a significant percentage of Australian children have been exposed to porn online at a young age, with a substantial majority accessing it through dedicated porn websites like Pornhub, which attract billions of visits globally each month. Concerns raised by authorities like the eSafety commissioner revolve around the normalization of sexual violence and degrading behavior towards women in mainstream online porn content, emphasizing the potential link between exposure to such material and gender-based violence. Governments have grappled with developing effective age verification schemes to regulate access to porn sites, with past attempts, like those in the UK, facing challenges related to data privacy and circumvention risks.