Internet Porn Censorship

Pornotube.com, the popular adult "tube" site, is celebrating its second anniversary and is doing with a new look – and a new attitude.

The new look debuted earlier this month with a redesign of the site's front page. Along with aesthetic changes, Pornotube now boasts bigger thumbnails, better backend functionality, and easier navigation. The redisgn seems to have been a success as judged by tripled daily member sign-ups.

Pornotube has seen its share of milestones in its two years online. Soon after it launched in the summer of 2006, the site garnered international mainstream attention, including being profiled by respected tech site TechCrunch, and a mention on VH1's Best Week Ever Blog. Pornotube quickly became one of the fastest growing adult sites on the Internet, and was hailed for its innovation in the adult sphere.

Since then, Pornotube has seen a number of competitors join it in the arena of adult-rated "tube" site, but it is very comfortable with its place in the industry and on the web. The site has formed many successful partnerships within the adult companies, such as its channel partnerships with flagship names like Teravision, Hustler, Titan Media and Smash Pictures. It recently added the internationally acclaimed Private Media to that list.

Suzann Knudsen, site administrator for Pornotube, said that the site has created a way for everyone in the industry to profit from stars to studios to affiliate programs. Pornotube Has supplied the adult industry with a new way to expose content to consumers.

The BBFC'
s widely recognised and understood classification system is moving to the world of downloadable films and will include the ‘R18'
 category which covers explicit sex works. The first adult entertainment company to join the scheme is Strictly Broadband.

Launched today, BBFC.online – as the new service is called – covers the full range of BBFC classifications from ‘U'
 through to ‘R18'
. The scheme is designed to give consumers the assurance they seek when choosing new media content. This is particularly relevant in the area of sexually explicit adult content as the scheme will provide potential customers with guarantees that the content is legal, consensual and non-violent.

Membership of the scheme will also require e-tailers and VoD services to have age verification or gate-keeping systems in place to control underage viewing, and the effectiveness of these will be monitored by the BBFC.

Strictly Broadband has been an active partner during the development and testing of the scheme and is the first adult industry company to join.

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said:

The Video Recordings Act does not cover the world of downloads so adult content that is not on video or DVD is subject to very little regulation. There are all sorts of potential problems associated with the downloading of sexually explicit material including the possible criminalisation of internet users who download extreme violent pornography, which the BBFC refuses to classify. Online material rated ‘R18'
 by the BBFC will comply with the same guidelines and laws as apply to R'
18'
 videos and DVDs sold in licensed sex shops. Companies like Strictly Broadband that sign up to the BBFC.online scheme are sending a clear message to their potential customers that they are acting responsibly to ensure that their product is properly labelled and subject to effective gate-keeping measures.

Jerry Barnett, Managing Director of Strictly Broadband said:

As the UK market leader in internet-streamed adult entertainment, we're pleased to be founder members of the BBFC Online scheme. It has been difficult in the past for legitimate companies to sell adult video on the internet, as the law is far from clear in this area. We welcome the clarification that the new scheme will bring to the business, which will allow the further development of a strong and legal British adult entertainment industry, and give British consumers the ability to decide whether they are buying legal material or not."
Notes for Editors

The BBFC also note:

1. The BBFC'
   s legal advice is that works supplied by ‘non-physical'
    means (eg by streaming or download) are not covered by the Video Recordings Act 1984.
2. Membership of the Scheme is voluntary and by subscription (£900 per annum) and there is no cost to consumers.
3. BBFC.online is ‘Platform Neutral'
    – it is designed to cover all forms of digital content delivery (eg web, set top boxes, hand-helds mobile phones).
4. The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act has created a new offence of the possession of ‘extreme violent pornography'
    – BBFC classified material is specifically excluded under this definition.

Broadband firms are restricting customers’ usage because of the unprecedented success of the BBC’s iPlayer, the online viewing service.

The news will raise fears that Britain’s broadband network is struggling to cope with the growing demand for TV programmes that can be viewed online after they have aired.

Thousands of broadband users face breaching their usage limits as a result and will have to fork out more for superior packages.

The iPlayer – which was launched in December and allows you to watch your favourite programmes on your computer – has attracted 17m people in its first three months. However, it has increased internet traffic by 66%, say some broadband providers.

They have a limited “bandwidth” so, with more people using high-speed services, are having to impose restrictions on speeds, and use download limits and “fair usage policies” to control traffic.

iPlayer programmes tend to be around 300 megabytes (MB) in size though longer one-hour shows like David Attenborough’s Life in Cold Blood can take up 600MB.

However, many low-end broadband packages have monthly download limits of one gigabyte (GB) – equal to about 1,000MB. Downloading just two iPlayer shows a month could therefore mean you use up your limit and have to pay extra for additional downloads.