By Erika Icon

YNOT EUROPE – In an effort to ensure children aren’t exposed to violent pornography, Iceland’s government is mulling a ban on all adult content on the internet. If proponents are successful, the country would be the first in the West to enact such a law. The UK government recently backed away from a proposal to mandate ISP-level filtering of all websites hosting potentially objectionable material. Muslim countries, notably Indonesia and Egypt, enacted porn blockades some time ago.

Interior Minister Ogmundur Jonasson is leading the effort, focusing on legal measures that would make accessing online porn virtually impossible. His proposal includes blocking IP addresses known to belong to adult websites and outlawing Iceland citizens’ use of credit cards to pay for XXX material.

“We have to be able to discuss a ban on violent pornography, which we all agree has a very harmful effects on young people and can have a clear link to incidences of violent crime,” Jonasson told the UK’s Daily Mail. He added the move isn’t about censorship, but instead the safety of women who appear in porn and children who may be exposed to materials not intended for their eyes.

It’s already illegal to print and distribute pornographic materials offline in the country.

In 2010, the Icelandic government funded a study about violence in pornographic photos and videos. Data indicated violent, graphic images may correlate with an increase in sex abuse and rape. Children exposed to violent porn exhibited signs of trauma, the researchers noted.

According to Halla Gunnarsdottir, a political advisor to Jonasson, “There is a strong consensus building in Iceland. We have so many experts from educationalists to the police and those who work with children behind this, that this has become much broader than party politics.

“At the moment, we are looking at the best technical ways to achieve this,” Gunnarsdottir continued. “But surely if we can send a man to the moon, we must be able to tackle porn on the internet.”