A problem for Steemit on the horizon regarding NSFW content!
Here in Indonesia websites showing nudity are illegal. This means it is only a question of time before access to Steemit will be denied.
Take a look at the current world situation regarding internet porn.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pornography_by_region
Yes, of course a VPN can be used to get around this, but the majority of the locals will not make the effort to use one, not just because it is a little complicated to understand at first, but because they are afraid of the potential punishments.
The penalties for using a VPN to look at blocked sites in some of these countries are extremely severe.
A closer look at some of these punishments:
South Korea
Anyone caught leaving anonymous comments on a blog with more than 100,000 readers will see a five-year prison term.
India
If you try to sneak a peek at some porn, you're looking at five-year prison sentence. A second conviction extends the sentence to seven years and a fine of 10 lakh rupees (roughly $22,000)
Burma
Peep any of the prohibited sites and you'll get hit with a minimum—yes MINIMUM—of 15 years in prison.
Afganistan
In January 2008, Journalism student Parwez Kambakhsh was imprisoned and given the death sentence for downloading and distributing a document defending women’s rights.
China
Offenders and activists can expect to be sentenced to jail, sometimes without a trial, and heavily fined. Publishing offensive content leads to a fine of up to $1800. Rumours still circulate that torture and forced labor occur as well
Iran
Punishments can range from fines to up to 15 years in prison. Some cases can result in the death penalty.
All above info on punishments has been taken from the following site: http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2012/08/10-countries-with-ridiculous-internet-laws/
What does this mean for the future of Steemit?
It seems inevitable that Steemit will see a decline in users when the world cottons on to the fact that it contains pornographic material.
Around a quarter of the world's population will no longer be able to access it without a VPN.
Is there a solution?
Yes there is!
As an ex-porn producer myself (13 years working for Playboy UK) I am very open-minded about this subject and see no harm in permitting it to exist here on Steemit.
But if this means that one quarter of the world will be unable to use the site without fear of fines, prison or even death....
....well then, perhaps we should consider eliminating this aspect of the platform. That would be the solution.
Unless of course we can somehow train up millions of people in the art of using a secure VPN.
I am very interested to get feedback from the community on this one.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on how we might be able to solve this potential growth problem ahead of us.
Many thanks for your time.
that's a good question. It also bothers me to see some kids on steem as it's easy for them to click nsfw. Parents are quick to setup accounts for their kids but they wouldn't want them to see certain things..
I'm not for nswf either, but if you have internet access then you can't avoid it. You block steemit, they'll find it on some other site. Smart parents did solve this problem way before steemit come by. My personal experience is: more you try to prevent something, more interesting is for kids. And they 're smart. Smarter than parents. Don't underestimate them. Learn from your kids.
I don't think smart parents ever solved the problem in terms of stopping their kids accessing nsfw content. Like you say, kids are smart, and usually better with computers. It isn't that hard to use proxies or vpns to access this sort of stuff; I was using vpns, albeit not to access nsfw content, since I was about 13/14.
I'd say the smartest way for parents to deal with it is to embrace it. Talk to your kids about it, explain what they are seeing. I had a friend whose parents did this, he was uncomfortable he stopped trying to look at it for about 6 months!!! You're right, if parents try to block it, it creates a taboo allure to the content, kids will go and look for no other reasons than they know they shouldn't.
I didn't say stop, I said to solve the issue. You exactly describe my thoughts how smart parents should deal with this. Thanks for the comment.
People can just start using another front-end interface that hasn't been blocked in their region yet, for example, https://busy.org/.
On the other hand, governments can be very good at blocking each and every single one of these interfaces. This is exactly the situation we don't want any country to get in.
Users have the option to hide all content tagged with nsfw via their settings.
I'm very much for having NSFW content on the site. Mainly for two reasons:
Firstly, I appreciate that some perceive some types of NSFW work as art, which then means there are 'artists' who make a living from this.
Secondly, I'm a big believer in freedom of speech and freedom of expression. I don't think we should begin censoring a platform in the early days. For me, one of the beautiful elements of crypto is the potential for a step away from the traditional set-up of governments and censorship possibilities.
So thinking about it, my solution would be the following, and I assume it would get round any of these legal difficulties. House all the NSFW content on a separate server, under a separate URL; for example, steemit-nsfw.com. Keep it as a tag on the homepage, but the click-through redirects you to a completely different domain with easy routes back, rather than a sub-domain. Therefore people visiting plain old Steemit aren't visiting sites with NSFW content, but those who want don't have any extra steps to visit it.
Any thoughts?
Those countries will miss out, just they way it will be. They could probably filter with the NSFW tag. The Blockchain is open and uncesnroed which is what makes Steemit different that other sites.
Haha I was just about to tag you here, thought you might have had something to say!
But then what use is all our freedom of speech if a major part of the world cannot get access to ideas, logic, and technology?
Platforms like Steemit allow people with freedom of speech reach out to people without it. What use will all our ideas and freedom are if a person in Africa, Middle East cannot read this interesting debate about censoring content?
What I feel is why allow the Govt to ban Steem due to nsw content? Steemit will thrive no matter what, nsw content will not skyrocket the value of our Steem and removing the nsw will never restrict its growth.
What powers Steem is the idea that anyone can share their ideas and make money out of it. Ideas must not be restricted due to content that is made purely for pleasure. Ideas can unlock minds, nsw content cannot.
I am against NSFW content in any form, be it art or any other thing. I agree with you Sam, that if a huge population cannot access this site without fear then what use is it?
People might say that it is their freedom of expression but then there are millions of sites that offer you such freedom why not use those sites and leave Steemit to people who want to share their ideas and make some money.
I live in India and the rules are pretty much never applied except only when there is an public uproar against such content.
IF steemit is the platform, that I thought I joined, then its main purpose is free censorship resistant speech. This indeed COULD be revolutionary and overthrow all these restrictive, totalitarian systems. In some of these countries it's even more dangerous to express religious thoughts, so porn should be a minor problem imho.
Noone ever said revolution comes without risk ...
This is blockchain technology and we will use it to liberate us!
I agree with @bearbear613 on the topic that parents may have an interest to protect their children from pornographic content (if they desire this) Me myself, I am quite liberal when it comes to NSFW content, everyone should be able to show what they want to show - it is still my decision if I look at it/search for it or not...
but yes, this is an interesting topic with regard to the growth of steemit all around the globe
Hard question. No easy answer.