No ban on porn websites

4 June 2012 07:11 am Views - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} 72 Bookmark

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The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) said today that no pornographic websites have been banned in the country, despite numerous claims by officials and a misconceived public notion.

OIC NCPA Budhdhika Balachandra told the Daily Mirror that theTelecommunication Regulatory Commission had not acted in this regard . “ We took all relevant steps to ban websites that include pornographic material, and through our efforts we were able to succeed in banning over 300 websites which contain material of Lankan Pornograhic models, however, all efforts have come to a standstill and these websites continue to operate under different names today because there was no actual ban that was effected by the TRC” he said.

When the Daily Mirror pointed out that the goal of banning pornographic websites were unrealistic and borders on diluting freedom of choice, the OIC said that the goal of his department was not utopian and the aim was to create awareness among the general public that sites of this nature exists and to deter children from accessing sites of this nature. “We understood that we can’t ban all pornographic websites that are currently on the internet. But we wanted to create awareness among parents and the general citizenry about the existence of these websites which include women being raped, animal porn and incest” he said.

Balachandra also went onto point out that the department tried its utmost to ban pornography on mobile phones which could have been banned and was not unrealistic like the accessing websites through the computer. “One of the main methods of access to pornographic material is via mobile phones. Almost all teenagers and many pre teens use mobile phones today and a majority of them access porn through their mobile phones. We tried in vain and were defeated by the large mobile companies in court who were not willing to ban such material on mobile phones” he said.

Chairman of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission Anusha Pelpita confirmed the statement made by the OIC. “How can we ban all sites? All that we have done is ban sites that have been recommended to us by the courts or a relevant authority. We realistically cannot ban all porn websites. Therefore we can only ban websites that have been referred to us by a competent authority” he said.( By Hafeel Farisz)

Comments - 72

Mayu Tuesday, 05 June 2012 03:31 AM

Need some think-tank guys to be in that commission!

0 2

sltk2004 Tuesday, 05 June 2012 05:16 AM

How can teenagers and pre-teens get mobile phone connections with web access? Obviously their parents must have got the connectivity for them. The parents should be aware of the activities of their children.

1 3

Lady Tuesday, 05 June 2012 05:08 AM

Adding to it, society sholud look at early marriage, no wait till their children turn 30- 35 to start looking for a partner. THe delay in this may also be a cause for so much disorder. sexual urge cannot be supressed easily , specailly for a man, so steps should be taken that will not harm society but improve society in all aspects. Educaitng alone will not suffie, as this urge leads to montrous activites by some beastly men, who disregard. Lets face it, not many sri lankans are highly eduatied. And i doubt if the lamen will chose education over his desire.

1 2

Lady Tuesday, 05 June 2012 05:07 AM

As mentioned in some comments legislation alone cannot bring this under control. People will go to find other means of catering to their desires. This may lead to more rapes taking place. Closing down brothels will add to this. I don't say that , for this reason porn and brothels should be legalised. Which is in contrarty to Sri Lankan values. Rather , in my opinion, its better to leagalise poygamy but with a fxed number to it , so that it will give justice t the man and woman.

2 1

Kavindra Tuesday, 05 June 2012 04:47 AM

so wait ur basically trying to say tht if u stood in front of a voluptuous woman who is completely unclothed you shall not have an E*******!. man if you dont then there is some thing wrong with you...btw LIyanagedp i confirm and agree with the above statement and proof well.....thts a private affair suggest you think twice about talking. us lankans are soo narrow minded hence the reason why the country is not developing.....i tell you there is a limit to narrow mindedness. sex education is vital to actually prevent sex crime taking place....i can go on and on abt this but hey its up to the viewers to decide =) tc and god bless

1 10

Sampath Tuesday, 05 June 2012 04:30 AM

Religion does not give you answers; it stops you from asking questions!

2 13

Thomas Tuesday, 05 June 2012 04:06 AM

Even the politicians are prone to view pron sites. A good example was 2 MLA's of Karnataka Assembly, India were viewing pron sties, while the assembly session was in progress. They also need some relaxation.

0 0

Countryman Tuesday, 05 June 2012 03:57 AM

Exactly like "Mathata Thitha"(fulls top for Intoxication)

0 0

thadawela Tuesday, 05 June 2012 03:47 AM

Here’s the reality. We hot and passionate tropical islanders are under the tyranny of sex-negating religions and an abnormal and hypocritical anti-sex culture, sustained by senile old fools in robes and nationals. So our cops harass young lovers holding hands in a park or beach, while the progeny of the high and mighty have a ball in high-priced hotels and their mansions. Instead of being a sad and frustrated bunch, let those who want to satisfy their natural needs fulfill them. No state or prelate has the right to control people’s sexuality. That way maybe also cut down on sex crimes by frustrated young men.

0 12

achtung Tuesday, 05 June 2012 05:40 AM

um actually people 'release' their pressure with porn - so it reduces , rather than a situation when people who are forced to 'hold it back'

2 10

Nodrog Tuesday, 05 June 2012 03:30 AM

Parents, teachers, priests, monks and other such elders should not pass the responsibility of moral education of our young generation to the government. They need to play an active and engaging role themselves.

0 7

wedige Tuesday, 05 June 2012 03:12 AM

Ask Wimal to do something

1 7

saman Tuesday, 05 June 2012 03:04 AM

now I can breathe easy

0 3

Shez Tuesday, 05 June 2012 03:09 AM

The more we suppress, the more we want it. this is a fact! educating the masses will help curb this and then no will be after it so much.

1 4

punchi Banda Tuesday, 05 June 2012 02:42 AM

HAY GUYS DO U HAVE ANY WELA SITES ??

0 4

punchi Banda Tuesday, 05 June 2012 02:42 AM

SOOON PROSTITUTION WILL BE FLAGED AS LEAGLE !!!!!!!! AYUBOWEWA MAHARAJANENI !!!

2 6

නිෂාන් Tuesday, 05 June 2012 02:29 AM

හොඳ වැඩක්. නිදහස අපිට වටිනව.

2 4

Gamini Tuesday, 05 June 2012 02:14 AM

Ban of X-rated websites is commendable.

11 3

miri Tuesday, 05 June 2012 08:45 AM

end of the world has begun

2 0

Truth Wednesday, 06 June 2012 12:34 PM

Its simple. You cant ban the sites. If you know simple IT you will get it. Most sites on the internet are porn. So simply educate and get over it

0 0

Indeewara Tuesday, 05 June 2012 12:41 PM

I know so many people such starving people ,who spend their hard earned meager wage on prostitutes & liquor ,. ..not a penny for their children.......Then they murmur day & night about Cost of living.....

2 0

Indeewara Tuesday, 05 June 2012 12:37 PM

I know so many people such starving people ,who spend their hard earned meager wage on prostitutes & liquor ,. ..not a penny for their children.......Then they murmur day & night about Cost of living.....

1 0

prince Tuesday, 05 June 2012 11:56 AM

Sunny Leone in Sri Lanka presently... she would be very happy

1 0

yoosuf Tuesday, 05 June 2012 10:51 AM

I am going to come to Sri Lanka with best cameras to shoot pornography LOL

1 0

thadawela Tuesday, 05 June 2012 09:26 AM

lady, don't preach about sri lankan values. We are basically hypocrites. We want it badly and pretend otherwise. We are jealous of those who get their sexual pleasure. What's more, some men just can't get most women to give it to them. Some women just can't get any man to give it to them. That's sad.
What's wrong with legalising prostitution like most enlightened countries have done? Then the state can control it, cut off pimpiyas and thugs, make sure the sex workers get regular medical tests -- and satisfy a huge demand? They can also get brothel tax to fill this beggar government's depleted coffers. After all, prostitution is the oldest profession in the world. We should praise it, not denounce it.

1 6

far Tuesday, 05 June 2012 08:52 AM

end of the world!!

2 0

gura Tuesday, 05 June 2012 08:51 AM

world is on the end

2 0

Black Mamba Tuesday, 05 June 2012 02:09 AM

There must have been a howl of protest from our ministers for sure!!!

0 4

das Tuesday, 05 June 2012 07:07 AM

Quite true. It finally come down to economics. If the govt is inefficient, there will be less jobs and more unemployment. If a man does not have a job, he cannot marry. If he cannot marry he cannot have sex. Well, at least, there are restrictions on having sex before marriage. So there will be an increase in brothels etc

0 0

Achcharu Tuesday, 05 June 2012 06:58 AM

Judging from teh number of comments, everyone was exited by the news negatively or positively.. Anywayz, Telco's will loose majority of Data revenue if ban takes effect, but it can be done upto a greater extend if we really want. But there are Many real-life on-goings which are far more damaging to society, why dont we Close those first.

2 2

sam Tuesday, 05 June 2012 06:57 AM

Finally some sensible ideas.

0 2

sam Tuesday, 05 June 2012 06:54 AM

If they are banned, there will be an increase in demand for porn movies. You know, the type we used to watch as teenagers.

0 1

King Kong Tuesday, 05 June 2012 06:12 AM

Well said MR. Aathal naththang bothal thamai. See the likes and dislikes on your comment !
There are many things that need to be done before banning online aathal. Id that is stopped people will resort to physical aathal with drastic results.

2 21

Prasad Tuesday, 05 June 2012 06:17 AM

You can control. But can't stop everything.Parents have to play big roll.

1 0

kushini kullekarandi Tuesday, 05 June 2012 06:08 AM

so what? will that stop you from writing in ALL caps

1 3

achtung Tuesday, 05 June 2012 05:44 AM

when that is done sex related crimes in the country will be reduced

2 4

Tharaka Chanaka Monday, 04 June 2012 08:25 AM

ela ela

2 18

sam_sparrow Monday, 04 June 2012 09:58 AM

Old people work in National Child Protection Authority, They don't want pron webs, may be it doesn't help them at all. Think about the young generation you old people :p

1 2

Jagath Leanage Monday, 04 June 2012 09:44 AM

What is the purpose of baning after having e-mails,F.B.,Video shops etc.?These XXX are frely moving around.Isnt it?So pointless.

0 1

RAJU Monday, 04 June 2012 09:35 AM

VERY VERY IMPORTANT THINGS FOR SRILANKA. PEOPLE ARE STARVING TO GET ATLEAST A LOAF OF BREAD, IT MAY BE IMPORTANT TO THE POLITICIANS AND WEALTHY PEOPLE , NOT TO THE POOR CITIZEN OF SRILANKA.

1 1

dimuthu Monday, 04 June 2012 08:51 AM

It's wrong to say we can't ban all porn websites. Sri lanka don't use available technology for this purpose. (ISP s don't want to spend some little extra for required equipment).

If an ISP is given website address to be banned , they can ban it easily. That's how they did to block tamilnet. (it's a little configuration on Routers or firewalls)

ISPs use very primitive methods to ban websites & that's why people can access them through Internet Proxy Servers.

If needed we can block unwanted categories of websites completely within Sri lanka. Eventhough new websites are coming daily in porn category , website categorization databases are also updating regularly. We have to use required equipment to access global databases & ban these categories.

Apart from above technical concerns , should we ban Porn/Political websites is another question.

1 0

Fusion Monday, 04 June 2012 08:50 AM

Phew! Saner heads prevail!

0 16

Hussain Monday, 04 June 2012 08:43 AM

Its time people and governments realized that morality cannot be legislated. Even in counties where sexual freedom is suppressed they go elsewhere to find it. Take a look at Bangkok in the red light districts all the sign boards are in Thai and Arabic, I questioned this from my hotel staff & they said "there are so many from the mid east countries coming looking for pleasure, so we decided to put all signs in Arabic" So there you are. Its education that keeps people on the right path and not more legislation.

5 46

Murshid Monday, 04 June 2012 08:37 AM

Why only porn!!. They should ban Gambling, Narcotics, Tavern and Smoking based on Mathata Tittha on Mahinda Chintanaya. All these are freely available. These are all talking to galleries but no action because big people are behind this.

0 41

joker Monday, 04 June 2012 08:41 AM

hic..........hic.............hic........................
TRC & NRCP just realised what we know eons ago...................

1 17

sean Monday, 04 June 2012 10:16 AM

ela brontha :D

0 0

Imran Hussein Monday, 04 June 2012 08:14 AM

No ban because you cant stop it. There are so many ways (proxy) to by pass the service provider.
Besides prohibition of these sites may lead to increase other crimes. Dubai city (In UAE) for instant, being an Islamic country, has some tolarence for prostitution, think WHY.

0 4

lankashantha Monday, 04 June 2012 07:51 AM

This is an ocean. Let it flow as it is. Must educate our children about the good and the bad of the internet. It is human curiosity.
See how many people had lost their money in the iforex web site. How many are playing online gambling and loosing money.
Teaching is the only proper way.

3 59

Hash Monday, 04 June 2012 07:47 AM

Promoting Sunny Leone ?

3 52

Sinha Monday, 04 June 2012 07:48 AM

Hey, remember every hour or so a ten new porn sites keeps coming up. You cant ban it cos it is futile. Tamilnet can be accessed through proxies just like any banned porn site. Please remember pornography is a right of an adult to enjoy.

8 62

asiri Monday, 04 June 2012 07:41 AM

This is a sad situation, the government need to take action to take down porn websites, there are sri lankan porn websites appearing and expanding at a rapid rate, id we don't stop them now it'll be too late.

And you can't say the things these "porn" websites are "porn" they are mostly videos and photos stolen from mobile phones, computers and digital cameras or videos and photos that are released by ex boyfriends after breaking up

112 25

xlntgson Monday, 04 June 2012 07:37 AM

Mala keliya!

9 24

Nodrog Monday, 04 June 2012 07:31 AM

The surge in sex related crimes could be because we are trying to repress and deny this natural biological human urge which is an impossible task. Instead we should be more open-minded about sex and educate our younger generation about it.

10 151

CTC Monday, 04 June 2012 07:31 AM

Lol. At least now u understood what we knew as our general knowledge since around 10 years back.

3 90

baliu Monday, 04 June 2012 04:12 PM

any local sites? lol

0 13

MR Tuesday, 05 June 2012 01:56 AM

Dear Yasmin,

You better move to Saudi Arabia to 'save' your children. Do you have any idea about internet censoring any-ways? :)

8 15

liyanagedp Tuesday, 05 June 2012 01:13 AM

u deprive needs of humanity

3 10

liyanagedp Tuesday, 05 June 2012 01:10 AM

No body could confirm. as well as can u prove that? so called all porn website cannot be banned from the URLs. It is obvious. The other thing is then all brothels shall be banned. Can authorities do that completeley? All young lads & Gals shall be well educated what are the wrong things if u practise these things. Then society would be more discipline.

2 4

citizen1 Monday, 04 June 2012 10:37 PM

Please!! It is more sad that there has been a sharp increase in sex crimes lately due to frustration and desperation. This way their 'tension' maybe relieved through other avenues instead of some innocent girl /boy getting raped.

1 12

senna Monday, 04 June 2012 09:12 PM

Porn does exactly the opposite. People get excited and commit crimes including child abuse

9 11

Mahesh Monday, 04 June 2012 06:22 PM

porn should be banned for children but it is a right of an adult to watch porn if they want...Parents should be taught how to control these and protect children.Where is this country is heading ? We dont want to be like in Middle East here..Now police started to catch young couples who hold hands in public ! this is crazy and the young generation is getting depressed everyday..Not even Lord Buddha was against sex or holding hand of your life partner in public ! If this doesnt change the educated young generation will flee the country...We are humans and not animals therefore we are not ready to do what politicians say (even though I am a MR supporter) !

1 7

Yasmin Monday, 04 June 2012 05:14 PM

Porn should be banned...to safeguard our children and their innocence. Those who want it, are selfish, thinking only of their greedy needs : ( Fear punishment from God!

41 18

Cocohead Monday, 04 June 2012 04:29 PM

Eka thamai..dan aththatama wahaida danne na :(

0 6

MR Monday, 04 June 2012 07:23 AM

That is good move... there are times when we need an aathal too

17 189

Here after Monday, 04 June 2012 03:36 PM

How would you feel if someone else having "AATHAL" with your own family members leaked video?

29 9

osanda Monday, 04 June 2012 01:04 PM

Again false information sites include women being raped, animal porn and incest, is a global crime, these sites are monited constantly by hence public should be educated about the truth.
This like parading some Indian and some other asian like women as Sri Lankan models.

0 1

dev Monday, 04 June 2012 12:37 PM

OK IF Porn has freedom, wt about media ?

4 36

ramkumar Monday, 04 June 2012 12:19 PM

Can we implement no smoking and consuming alcohol ban on public, Which is very easy task to do. Even law enforcing authorities are violation these laws, then how can you expert to ban others. No point to ban which happens within persons enclosed area and for his private purpose.

0 2

Nilanse Monday, 04 June 2012 12:01 PM

Many young people, at least here in the West, feel a lot of pressure from these web sites. They think sex is like in the porn movies. They might feel they are doing something wrong. They try to behave in the same way as the actors. They are afraid they aren't good enough etc... The porn industry has created a wrong picture of the reality. That's the sad part. The GOSL should introduce a proper sex education. I don't say we should tell everyone to go out and have sex, but they must be aware of the risks. For example, the more sex partners one has the more risky it is to be exposed to deseases such as HIV/Aids. And putting a single condom on is not 100 % safe.
Some recent data from the UK draws a disturbing picture of the average youth. Some got a lot of sex partners, they try to "copy" the porn and got low self esteem.

6 4

Vendetta Monday, 04 June 2012 11:51 AM

The government needs to realistic and accept the fact that they cannot keep people away from porn due to its abundance on the internet. I do however support the banning of unethical forms of porn such as animal sex, violent and abusive sex, and child and incestuous porn.

0 4

Benett Monday, 04 June 2012 11:48 AM

The Rajapaksa Regime can block news sites they don't want but are unable to block porn sites? Riddiculous!

3 34

Imran Hussein Monday, 04 June 2012 10:46 AM

Cant agree with you more.
No ban because you cannot stop it completely. Its so easy to bypass the service provider thru proxies. If you stop these sites reactions or outcome can be severe.

3 11

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