UK court bans online porn sales
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Posted in Financial News, 24th May 2005 09:01 GMT
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Pornmongers in the UK can no longer send videos or DVDs through the post or sell them online.
Sex shops in the UK cannot sell adult material except to people who visit their premises. The High Court ruled yesterday that such restrictions are legal because they help prevent pornography being bought by children.
Two UK companies brought the appeal after being fined by Trading Standards for selling restricted material by post. They argued that the ban was unfair because companies outside the UK would ignore it and damage British businesses.
But the judgement said the restrictions are lawful. The main reason for ensuring a face-to-face meeting between seller and buyer was to make sure the buyer was old enough.
Lord Justice Kay accepted that children under 18 might manage to subvert such restrictions but that did not justify removing them.
Two companies, Interfact Ltd, with a shop in Bexley, and Birmingham-based Pabo Ltd, fell foul of trading standards last year after offering age-restricted videos like Bikers’ Gang Bang and Top Marks for Effort through their online catalogues.®
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