Mark Garnier, Member of Parliament for Wyre Forest, has joined a group of concerned MPs delivering a petition to No.10 Downing Street. The petition, promoted by campaign website Safety Net, is designed to tackle the concerns many families have over the volume of unsuitable material being easily accessed by their children.
According to psychologists, the single largest group of internet pornography consumers is children aged 12-17, one in three 10-year-olds have seen pornography online, and 81% of children aged 14-16 regularly access explicit photographs and footage on their home computers. Mark, who has three young children, was a member of the panel of MPs who prepared a report into this issue earlier this year. The report concluded that opt in filtering is the solution to combating inadvertent access by a minor to online pornography.
Mark said, "The Safety Net campaign is aiming to ensure that Internet Service Providers block access to pornography, but also that they include an 'opt-out' mechanism for adults. This is not censorship, just sensible filtering.
"The internet will remain open and accessible, but we will also be able to responsibly protect our children from material they may find deeply upsetting."
See the campaign's website: www.safetynet.org.uk