UK to Outlaw 'Extreme' Porn

It's about to be a crime to possess violent porn in the UK, David Cameron declared today, as he announced a sweeping crackdown on Internet porn. As has long been rumored, Cameron said that all online porn would be blocked unless a household specifically requests it. By the end of the year, Internet service providers will present customers with an "unavoidable decision" of whether to install porn filters. If customers don't respond, the filters will be installed by default, the Guardian reports.

In addition, "extreme pornography," including scenes of simulated rape, will be outlawed entirely; even possessing it will be illegal. "Online pornography is corroding childhood," Cameron said, according to the Independent. He said he wasn't trying to "moralize or scaremonger," but that the "time for action has come." The government will also lean on search engines to ban search terms that could lead to child pornography. If they don't willingly comply, Cameron said he's already looking into "legislative options we have to force action." (More David Cameron stories.)