The former First Minister of Scotland, Jack McConnell, has said that the proposed crackdowns on internet pornography, coupled with the preventative steps currently being proposed in the wake of the Twitter rape threats issued to campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez, enhance internet freedom, rather than restrict it.
His intervention comes in the weekend that Criado-Perez said she received up to fifty coordinated rape and death threats via Twitter per hour, following her successful campaign to feature Jane Austen’s image on future UK banknotes.
Twitter has responded by announcing measures to simplify the reporting of abuse.
Scotland Yard confirmed a 21 year old man has been arrested in connection with the incident.
“Warnings on internet porn, twitter rape threats and sex mags in supermarkets do not restrict our freedom, they enhance it,” McConnell said this morning, via both Twitter and Facebook.
So called lads mags which feature images of women, but are not categorized as pornographic, have come under pressure after the Co-op announced that it would give the magazine publishers until 9 September to ‘cover up’, or be removed from sale across its 4000 stores.