Like talking dirty online? Like watching porn on the iPad? Not for long...
Smut. Filth. A nod is as good as a wink to a blind bat. Kyak kyak. All that dirty stuff is pretty popular online, right? You don't have to feel like a seedy ol' shit with a grubby mac on whilst perusing nude humans with engorged bits or talking filth to complete strangers.
The joy of the internet is that you can keep your depressing onanistic tendencies behind closed doors without looking like a crazed, aroused troglodyte leaping out of hedgerows, spurting broth over your pasty, hairy stomachs.
That could all change though as the internet marches on toward some kind of dead-eyed evangelical goodliness, free from massive knockers and one-handed typing.
As reported by The Register, Kent Police are in the process of using the Obscene Publications Act to prosecute a chap called Gavin Smith for publishing obscenity in respect of a log of a private online chat he had with another individual. Basically, any online chat you have that is regarded as obscene could see The Powers That Be arguing that you have 'published' material and that you could be lined up for prosecution. Of course, this news is on the back of Paul Chambers getting fined for a daft tweet about blowing up an airport, which, if it is enforced more frequently, should be seen as a warning shot to anyone posting comments on a blog or on Twitter.
The full text of the judgement, plus legal analysis, can be found here if you have the time or inclination.
Effectively, you could be seen as committing a criminal offence if you use Twitter as a "public electronic communications network" to send messages that are "grossly offensive, indecent, obscene, menacing, annoying, inconveniencing or causing needless anxiety". That stands for any online outlet of words.
Meanwhile, Apple's CEO Steve Jobs seems to want iPad and the App Store to deliver "freedom from porn". Quite why it is his judgement call is another matter, but this ideological fluff could see you unable to access filth on your iPad, which is surely perfect for a quick ham-shandy thanks to the large screen format?
That's not stopping adult site YouPorn from delivering free much to the iPad though, as the tit-peddlers have launched an iPad-optimised version of the site with the entire catalogue of videos being converted into HTML5 so they can be watched on Apple's Flash-free tablet, report ME.
We'll just have to see how this pans out. At the moment, things are taking a worrying turn.
TOPICS: Technology Privacy Government
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