There isn’t an awful lot of optimism in politics these days.Faced with so many seemingly insurmountable problems, it’s hard for MPs and ministers to keep their morale up.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. There is one golden opportunity on the horizon, one real chance for MPs — and the in particular — to leave behind a legacy that will, without question, make the world a far better place.
I’m talking about the Online Safety Bill, which returns to the Commons on Monday.
It will give MPs a shot not only at protecting vulnerable children such as Molly Russell (who took her own life after viewing content promoting suicide and self-harm), but also outlawing other nasty internet practices.
In particular, the legislation aims to hit social media platforms where it hurts — in the pocket — by imposing hefty fines if they fail to comply with regulation.
It’s the first step in turning the internet from a Wild West full of repulsive behaviour into something approaching a civilised environment.
What better legacy for any government to leave?For almost two decades, the internet has been spewing toxic bilge into the minds of children and young people: this is the first real attempt we’ve seen to put a stop to that.
My one sadness, though, is that it doesn’t go far enough.And, in particular, that it doesn’t shield children sufficiently from the internet’s greatest blight: hard-core pornography (stock image)
My one sadness, though, is that it doesn’t go far enough.And, in particular, that it doesn’t shield children sufficiently from the internet’s greatest blight: hard-core pornography.
Yes, the Bill will try to enforce age verification to stop children accessing porn sites. But ministers have abandoned plans to remove ‘legal but harmful’ material on the grounds that it could obstruct free speech.
So, for example, a video that depicts sex with a woman dressed to look like a child would be legitimate in that although it invites paedophilia, it does not technically involve sex with a minor.
I don’t know about you, but I fail to see what that has to do with free speech.But then I fail to see why any form of pornography — legal or otherwise — should be available to view for free online.
It should, as it is in the real world, be restricted and regulated for appropriate audiences. What this Bill should really be doing is paving the way for online porn sites not only to introduce age-verification software (which is becoming increasingly effective), but also put up digital barriers — as Netflix and Amazon do — which ensure that only registered subscribers can gain access.
In other words, put porn behind a paywall.
It will give MPs a shot not only at protecting vulnerable children such as Molly Russell (pictured) — who took her own life after viewing content promoting suicide and self-harm — but also outlawing other nasty internet practices
If that makes me a modern-day Mary Whitehouse, so be it.But the truth is this stuff is harmful in a thousand different ways.
Recent years have seen something of an unintended social experiment in establishing just how to train your dragon porn corrosive the once tightly regulated porn industry can be. And the results are clear.
The culture and aesthetics of porn now permeate every aspect of society, from music to fashion and beyond.
Sarah Vine: The truth is this stuff is harmful in a thousand different ways
Take the scandal involving fashion house Balenciaga and its latest ad campaigns, one featuring young children and teddy bears appearing to wear bondage gear, the other showing U.S.Supreme Court documents about child pornography. That would never have happened were it not for online porn ‘normalising’ such things.
Or TikTok — a platform hugely popular with children — where you will find countless OnlyFans ‘stars’ and other erotic ‘artistes’ boasting about how much money they make selling explicit content on that grubby site.
They don’t get taken down from TikTok because they’re not technically infringing guidelines, but the message is clear: why bother with school, kids, when you can just flog your body online?
Digital porn also normalises a violent, misogynistic rape culture that has devastating real-world consequences.
We see that not just in extreme cases of men such as Wayne Couzens — the Metropolitan Police officer who murdered Sarah Everard — but also in ordinary, everyday relationships where porn-inspired practices such as choking and strangulation are commonplace.
Is this really what we want?For our culture to be ruled by the base imaginings of the porn industry? I don’t believe it is.
And I hope and pray that this Bill is just the start of something that will, in time, make the internet not only a safer space, but also a more wholesome one — where the next generation of children can grow up untainted by the twisted aesthetic of a world that should remain where it belongs: in the shadows.
Julia’s still a pretty woman
Julia Roberts celebrates her twins’ 18th birthday by posting an adorable snap of her with them when they were babies.Almost two decades on, she looks virtually unchanged. My son also turned 18 last week — but sadly the years have not been as kind to me as they have to Julia. Ah well: still a wonderful moment for us both.
Julia Roberts celebrates her twins’ 18th birthday by posting an adorable snap of her with them when they were babies
I blame the church for a faithless flock
Just 46 per cent of the population of England and Wales now describe themselves as Christian — down from 59 per cent in 2011.But look at the numbers and you’ll see that this has very little to do with any increase in other religions: Muslims are up a bit, Jews static. No, it’s that more and more people now describe themselves as non-religious: 37 per cent.
And I’m one of them: Christian in spirit, but deeply disillusioned with the Church of England and its leadership.
Last month, Gary Lineker was found to be in breach of BBC impartiality guidelines when he said the Tory party should ‘hand back donations from Russian donors’ over Putin’s war in Ukraine.As a staunch critic of the World Cup in Qatar, will he follow his own advice — and hand back the £1.6 million he previously received working for the Gulf state’s broadcaster?
American comedian Pete Davidson is pictured with his latest squeeze, Emily Ratajkowski (though, being a model, there’s not much to squeeze).Emily’s only the latest glamour-puss Pete has dated — his exes include Phoebe Dynevor, Kate Beckinsale, Kaia Gerber and Kim Kardashian.
Being a man, of course, this makes him some kind of sex god.Were he a woman, they’d be calling him something else…
Something sweet about the pictures of Emma Raducanu beaming as she receives her MBE.She may be wearing Dior, but there’s not a scrap of make-up on her face, nor hint of a blow-dry — nor does she need either. Lucky her: not many receive a gong at such a tender age.
Congratulations: The 20-year-old athlete beamed as she posed for pictures after accepting the honour, awarded for services to tennis, at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle
Queen of informality
Camilla clearly wasn’t expecting a curtsey from Crown Princess Mary of Denmark at a Buckingham Palace reception yesterday to raise awareness of violence against women and girls.The Queen Consort went straight in for a kiss, after which Mary felt the need to do an awkward half-curtsey backwards. That’s the wonderful thing about Camilla: for someone in her position, she’s so refreshingly informal.
In the final (for now) episode of her podcast Archetypes, the Duchess of Sussex tells listeners she ‘feels seen’ when ‘using my voice’.
One of her guests, Real Housewives Executive Producer Andy Cohen, admits he forgot meeting Meghan not just once, but twice.Eek. I wonder if he’ll ever be ‘seen’ again?
Albanians celebrating their country’s independence day have been filmed bringing the traffic in London’s Westminster to a stand-still, with luxury cars including a Lamborghini Huracan and a Mercedes G Wagon (cost: £164,000 and £120,000 respectively).And you wonder why so many of their countrymen think Britain’s streets are paved with gold…
