Ban on mobile phone pornography nears
The government may soon have to prepare a law to stop youth from downloading pornography and violent scenes onto their mobile phones.
On Thursday, the House of Representatives approved motions banning the distribution of pornographic or violent material for such phones.
A general ban is necessary, parliamentarians said, since it is impossible to prevent young people from downloading material even if there is an age limit placed on it.
The chamber voted in favour of the plan despite the government’s recommendation to reject the motions.
Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said it was not possible to tackle the problem with the introduction of new measures. She said telecommunications providers were already obliged to block access to pornography for under-aged youth.
The Senate has already passed the motion on pornography, and is expected to follow the House’s lead on the violence proposal.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.