Transatlantic porn test case gets result – sort of

1999-09-09

Anti-porn crusaders will be breathing a sigh of relief today, following the landmark judgement in a British court about a UK resident running a number of US-based porn sites from his home in Surrey. The case was part-victory, part disappointment, as the US involved party appears to have got off scot-free, and two of the sites are still up, running and based in Costa Rica.

This case serves to illustrate the state of the world legal system concerning Internet porn. In school terms, it’s a case of “not bad, could do better” – clearly huge strides have already been made but many loopholes still exist. For the moment, whilst the partial victory is better than nothing, it should only serve to increase the efforts required in all countries around the globe, to set global minimum standards and enable the interworking that is necessary to deal with the crimes. It is unlikely that the porn industry will ever be stamped out, but at the moment, the Internet offers an open invitation to anyone wishing to participate in this unfortunate trade.

(First published 9 September 1999)