The Knesset on Wednesday approved by a 50-16 margin the first reading of the controversial "porn bill" that requires Israeli internet service providers to block access to pornographic websites. The bill, sponsored by Habayit Hayehudi MK Shuli Mualem-Rafaeli, was approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation after undergoing changes to resolve issues of personal freedom and censorship. According to the revised bill, internet service providers will be required to inform customers of the option to receive filtered content. The original bill would have forced providers to block online pornography websites as a default setting that could only be removed if the customers made a specific request and proved they are over the age of 18. Proponents of the bill said that 60% of children between the ages of 9 and 15 browse pornographic sites, exposing them to online sexual predators. "I have heard all the arguments against the bill including claims that 'Iran is here [due to the hard-line stance on pornography],' so let's clarify a few things to all the 'freedom fighters' out there. The bill requires internet providers to notify consumers, via a text message or an email, that they have the option to receive filtered content online," said Mualem-Rafaeli. "This measure would have been completely unnecessary if the internet providers were doing what they had already committed to do." Meretz lawmaker Michal Rozin, who opposes the bill, said it is "too general and undermines personal freedom." "The bill doesn't specifically target pornography sites, but rather 'offensive websites,' which is a problematic term; if a new communications minister was to be appointed tomorrow, he could easily decide, for example, that LGBT websites are offensive, creating blacklists of all sorts. The fight against pornography should be primarily educational," Rozin said.
