I guess your right, it is censorship.
And so are laws against tobacco advertising.
As are laws in Canada against hate speech, harrasment missgendering and Holocaust denial.
I guess censorship gets a bad wrap.
And so are laws against tobacco advertising.
As are laws in Canada against hate speech, harrasment missgendering and Holocaust denial.
I guess censorship gets a bad wrap.
If you like free speech, am I "free" to "speak" loud screams directly into your ear? Am I free to speak lies to you about the safety features in my airplane, when you're buying tickets? Free speech absolutism is a childish position; what crosses a line is subjective.
I think any reasonable person would agree that this internet blocking regime crosses a line and unfairly stifles people's ability to communicate. Not every public space should be obliged to be child-appropriate; obscenity laws are best left in the 20th century.
Until then you're advocating for the continuation of a a special exemption for online porn sites, which are worse than adult movies and magazines because they are known and habitual hosts of child sexual abuse materials, non-consensual porn, child and adult sex trafficking victims.
On top of that, it's not just porn websites that this will apply to. It's any website featuring explicit material that could be "harmful to children." That includes most discussions of sex. You're going to have to register your ID to even have an R-rated conversation online. That'll have a huge chilling effect on free speech.
Children's internet access can easily be controlled by parents with readily-available tools. The problem here is parental negligence. There are plenty of ways the government can push parents into using these tools, and none of them are damaging privacy or free speech.
And don't bring child sex abuse material into this. If you're concerned about CSAM on porn sites, you should be advocating that the government investigate that. Not that they institute draconian ID-checking laws. Unless you think CSAM is only a problem when it's viewed by someone under 18?