What are the new proposals?

The Government intends to ban possession of extreme and violent pornographic material. Hundreds of websites cater to this demand, offering material that depicts the torture of women in sexual contexts, including rape.

Isn’t this sort of obscene material illegal already?

Under the Government's proposals, it would be an offence to possess images depicting scenes of serious sexual violence and other obscene material. Currently, The Obscene Publications Act 1959, makes it an offence only to publish this material.

How would the new laws be enforced?

The most likely model is the way existing laws banning the possession of child pornography are policed.

This involves a combination of approaches. Members of the public and computer repair shops play an important part by reporting people they think could posses or be distributing illegal images to the police. The Internet Watch Foundation www.iwf.org.uk, also investigates suspicious websites.

The police could also carry out investigations, possibly working with the intelligence services. These could be similar to Operation Ore, in which the American and British authorities co-operated to catch people downloading child pornography.

In Operation Ore, the police used credit card details and information from internet service providers to track down offenders. Information from computers of suspected offenders, such as e-mail addresses, could also be used to track down other members of illegal pornography rings.

What would the punishment be for offenders?

The maximum penalty would be a three-year prison sentence. The frequency and seriousness of the images found in each case would determine the sentence.

What if I accidentally visit one of these sites?

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