What would happen to photography if adult content was blocked by UK ISP’s ? Where would the line be drawn to what is and is not adult? There are many people that do say that Art Nude Photography really just Porn and should be restricted.  It should be made clear that I fully understand that people using the web are younger and younger and as much protection that can be afforded is correctly place, but, there is a question of where the lines are too..

Drafted up originally as as letter to be sent to an editor of a UK magazine. A few months ago there was much in the news about ISP being made to restrict different keywords etc..

Not much was followed up in the press about it all and it seems like a bit of a odd route for the UK government to try and push though.   I mean if they did start censoring images and the like.. we would just just start using the TOR browser & network anyway, but the over laying outcome could be unknown…  Below is the letter I drafted up a while ago…. oh  I am now hosting images online using SmugMug  and have not had a single problem – this article was written while I was only using A2 Hosting)

Copy Starts ————————–

Dear ****** *******

A few months ago I started this letter to you, at the time there was much in the news regarding search terms being regulated and blocked. As time went on, this letter sat unfinished until recent events that led to this image being highlighted to be via my server.

*********** Hosting Support: http://www.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.com/about/policies/acceptable-use-policy, examples are selling, or otherwise disseminating, pornography or other erotic material, regardless of its literary merit. Here is an example off of your site

 

(Model: Zoi Gorman)

My server labeled be as having erotic material, so in short my website would be one of the website blacklisted, this prompted me to finish the letter and send.

I wanted to ask if you thought that the government really ever go down the route of blacklisting words on ISP’s and actively restricting content they deemed ‘adult’ ?

It’s not that I don’t agree with some of the reasons behind these plans, it’s not that I don’t care what other people judge as morally right or wrong. It is about being judged openly and honesty and with merit to an understanding of the world we live in today. With my whole heart, I support and understand that government does have to take an active role in protecting the young and vulnerable. It is very understandable that if things are being broadcast in the open where people can involuntarily view or be made to view something, then wider tighter restrictions need to be in place (TV, Radio or public broadcasts). The government is talking about blocking access things that are legal on grounds that maybe offended if you are looking at things you don’t like. If you stumble over something you don’t like, and it is legal, move on, or maybe don’t go back to that website ?

Our whole legal system is built on the idea of reasonable doubt. The idea that one man or women can be judged against what is deemed to be normal. Who is judging what is and what isn’t pornography. My own website is deemed as adult by forums like DP Review, Flickr, 500px and pretty much all online hosting sites. They see nipple and scream porn. I every time I have to set an image as adult on a forum or online site, I feel like I am being stereotyped as something I am just not ! (ed: I am now hosting images online using SmugMug and have not had a single problem – this article was written while I was only using A2 Hosting)

I have done a fair bit of reading on this subject and nowhere I have read any plans to help protect the art world and photographic world from being caught up in this new way of tackling what does seem to be a problem. I openly admit, there are some very serious problems that do need to be tackled. My views are quite similar to the people stating that these blunt and rough blocks on keywords is going to be harmful and very un-effective at best. There are people who also say that this would be promoting the lack of parental responsibility in the home. To raise another point, I spend a lot of time online and the very odd occasion I see something I don’t like, I just close the window and move on. I don’t feel the need to run crying that my life has be harmed from seeing something I didn’t like.

While on DP review (photographic forum site), I ran into some trouble over the use of the NSFW term, I no no problem with DP review or the way it is ran. It is a free to use resource and can do what is likes, however, I am a photographer, I work as a Photographer. Something that is Not Safe For Work for me is going to be quite different from a primary school teacher. I was forced by other users and admins to place the NSFW term on my link to my blog due to some very minor nudity that was on my site. Protecting people from seeing unwanted or harmful images was the stated reason for the warning. I tried to explain the idea that there are many things on the internet and what one person finds interesting another person finds offensive, just like some people like Marmite and some don’t… but we don’t see protective labeling on food, so why do we need it in the Arts and Photographic world. This legislation is piggy backing state-level censorship onto something that is designed to tackle a real people of internet safety.

Recently I have had a number of Facebook bans for nudity with many of my friends having had bans too. I have to label my comments as NSFW on forums just in case someone is surfing a photographic forum and sees a nipple shape though a bra in a fashion or lingerie image. Just encase someone is offended by something they clicked on, I have to change what I do and say in a public environment, now, the government is forcing the issue, and seeming putting pressure on servers and ISP’s too ? My server was in the USA, that should be made clear. It is also clear that it is their server, their rules.

I am worried that photographers and image makers will get caught up in this. If key-wording is done at the search level, how would a photographer who specializes in children portraits be identified as safe? I guess searching for terms like ‘nude’ and ‘naked’ will be targeted, would a ‘fine art nudes’ section be OK? Will we be able to see the works of Helmut Newton online? What about Bob Carlos Clarke ? What about the amazing images of Kate Moss by Mario Testino or Mert & Marcus ? Where is the line going to be? Can part of a website be returned on a Google search, if there is a safe section? Will photographers who work in the Fetish and Adult (both legal professions) be able to have websites in the common domain, or find more underground networks to work from? What can a photographer do to appeal if they get caught up in this mess….? There are about a million questions in my head. The bottom line is, will this effect an industry that is already being devalued be stereotyped even more. The most important question is, how does this impact my business and is there anything I need to be doing to ensure I can keep the work I want on my website without having to host my website on pornography friendly servers ?

As a final parting point, I get that these laws are coming into protect children from seeing unwanted images on the web. All computers have safe locks, all browsers have safe guards. Why is this not enough? There has to be another way. Education and awareness is going to be far better.

These are images, that I would currently be worried about posting on my website in the worry that my sever would block for hosting pornography. What are your thoughts ? Are we moving backwards or forwards or are these images really that shocking that they should be hosted on an adults only website with a warning ?

Yours,

Dave Kai Piper

(Model: Akari Desire)