Another Form of Relief

Probably best I don’t use an image for this one, or you’d probably go to jail.

A couple of weeks ago the government presented it’s latest Criminal Justice Bill to Parliament. This is a fairly common occurence, and is usually a time when the government gets to sort out little quirks in our criminal justice system in an attempt to make it more efficient. This is usually done by attempting to limit minor things like trial by jury, but that’s neither here nor there.

Most of the bill this year is pretty inoffensive stuff. It allows the use of more offenders to be dealt with in the community rather than prison, an easing on prostitution penalties and a set of small changes designed to simplify the system. However, buried within it is a very worrying piece of legislation outlawing the possession of extreme pornography. While I know many of you will probably switch off at this point by thinking that this is relevant to you, you’d be foolish to do so.

Campaigners against extreme pornography use the same argument that those against violent films or games do; that it influences behaviour and turns those that watch it into psychopaths. Of course, no one has yet to be able to present any evidence that this is the case both here or in the earlier cases, but why let the facts get in the way of a good crusade? Yet while most people will agree that it’s ludricrous that film will have such an impact on someone, most people (groups like Index on Censorship aside) are keeping quiet on this one. Even Liberty, while (rightly) campaigning for the right to protest and other free speech matters don’t seem to want to go near it.

As for the law itself, it’s so badly thought out that surely at least some MPs must have noticed. Granted, this lot aren’t the greatest when it comes to oversight, but you’d think someone would have thought “hey, did you notice this thing doesn’t even define what extreme pornography is?”. That’s right folks: Possession of extreme pornography will be banned by the government, but the government can’t tell you what extreme pornography is. The vague guidelines set out in the legislation make token references about “an act which threatens or appears to threaten a person’s life” and “an act which results in or appears to result (or be likely to result) in serious injury to a person’s anus, breasts or genitals”. Which may seem simple, but the use of “appears” in there is a very dangerous thing.

This legislation does not stop at pornography that obviously puts someone at risk. If it did, there would be much less wrong with it. Instead, it also goes after pornography that features two consenting adults acting out a violent sexual scenario. Most people will probably find that idea offensive in itself, but exactly who is harmed if a person does choose to watch such a thing acted out between consenting adults? This just creates yet another victimless crime in a system that is already overloaded.

It continues to get worse from this point. A BBFC classification provides no exemption from this law. While something like A Clockwork Orange or even Hostel should be fine as an entire product, keeping screencaps or sections of video from them on your computer would constitute possession. This may sound like I’m yelling about a worst case scenario here, and possibly I am, but all of this is covered under the legislation. Something that is all the more worrying when the penalty if convicted is a prison sentence of up to two years.

This is a law that will threaten thousands of people, from the most obvious cases in the BDSM community right up the guy keeping some clips of Hollywood films because he finds them kind of hot. Action against either group is entirely unacceptable and outside the realm of what a liberal society should represent.

I’ve argued against the smoking ban on a number occasions. It’s with us now, and while I’m still opposed to it, I can at least understand the basic health argument behind it. Lighting up in public against the ban will at worst get you a £50 fine, despite the health risks involved. Watching pornography in your own home will at worst get you two years in prison. Is any part of this system fair?

MP3 Brakes - Hold Me In The River (expired)

I woke up late and found my liberty lost, it had been written down in law as a security cost.