Atheists say making pornographic content illegal is not a solution

The Atheists in Kenya society has said the proposal to illegalise possession or publishing of pornographic content is an act in haste.

According to AIK President Harrison Mumia, criminalizing pornography will only result in a boom for the pirated content industry.

“We are vehemently opposed to this Amendment Bill. We believe that MP Aden Duale is being driven by a religious bias in pushing for such a punitive Bill,” he said in a statement.

In the proposed Bill, anybody sharing pornographic material on the internet will risk a Ksh. 20million fine or 25 year jail term or both.

The Bill proposes to amend the cyber crimes act to prohibit sharing of pornographic materials.

“A person shall not knowingly publish pornography through a computer system, produce pornography for the purpose of its publication through a computer system, download, distribute, circulate, sell or make it available in anyway from a telecommunications apparatus pornography,” it states.

But the Atheists in Kenya Society opined that adults have a right to watch porn in the privacy of their homes and that right should not be taken away.

Mr. Mumia argued that the right move is to educate the youth about what sex and related behaviors are.

Additionally, he avers that a ban on pornographic content may increase sexual frustration and lead to social problems.

Mr. Mumia proposed that instead of banning pornographic websites, the Ministry of Education should introduce mandatory sex education as part of the curriculum.

“Sex education will actually limit porn viewing among adults. Parental guidance of age-appropriate surfing may also help. We urge Parliament to reject the proposals in the Ammendmend Bill,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) has urged Kenyans to support the proposed Bill.

COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli said censorship of pornography will go a long way in promoting and ensuring workers demonstrate good ethical behavior at their place of work.

“…it has been noted, in a number of studies, that consumption of this content can be directly linked to unethical behavior at places of work,” he said in a statement on Monday.