Once upon a time, the Internet was a simple place. Tranquil, easy to navigate and safe.
Then, as with all things, perverts found their way onto it. And they quickly discovered that the Internet is an effective way-station for all things smutty. Ever since then this digital domain has been home to all manner of pornographic material, from the everyday straight stuff to the downright bizarre. And as long as there are foul-minded individuals online, that isn't going to change.
Consider how you found this page. Chances are good you were interested in Internet pornography on a strictly social level, and not to gratify yourself. You wanted to peruse some well thought-out, interesting articles on the subject.
Chances are EQUALLY good that you came across some pretty raunchy search results looking for those articles. You can tell the quality of the site just by reading the link, and you'll know right away whether to click that link or not - but the fact remains that those sites are there, and less wary souls can easily be drawn into these shady dens of iniquity.
Parents looking to protect their kids by eliminating pornography from the Internet have unrealistic expectations. By this point it's virtually impossible to wipe cyberspace clean. As long as there's one guy (or gal - let's be honest, here) left with lewd pictures on his computer the cycle of skin will continue.
Why? Because the Internet is huge. It spans the entirety of the globe, and every country has different laws. Every country can, with a bit of finagling, access one another's web pages. In other words, even if one government could manage to completely clean out their own servers, there would be other, easily accessible servers abroad to use. It can't be done.
And that's only if said government is successful within their own country. To do so they'd have to sift through the activities of millions of Internet users inside their borders, activities that fluctuate constantly. They'd need to monitor the surfing habits of every last person, a staggering undertaking requiring manpower beyond the stretch of any budget. And even then, who is watching the watchers? Like any virus, the spread of Internet porn can't be stopped unless every last user is purged of pornographic material.
Even IF they were successful, this government would quickly realize that images and videos can be found outside run-of-the-mill pornography sites. Personal sites, blogs, message boards, person-to-person services, chat rooms: all are possible points of transmission for smut. And given how easy it is to create or at least engage in any of these activities, how could any government keep up? A cleaned Internet would turn foul again quickly.
This is also assuming that this hypothetical government has the permission of ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to access user activity. And even if they did it would be relatively simple for that country's citizens to rise up in protest against their government having such permission, as it's a serious breach of privacy. Access to a person's net surfing habits also entails access to personal messages, online purchases and anything else of a sensitive nature carried out through a web browser.
Pornography is a fact of the Internet, and that won't change any time soon. To get rid of online sex you'd have to take the Internet apart completely, another nigh impossible task.
Nor would you legally be able to rid cyberspace of sex. Granted, there are some very shady and illegal sites out there. But, like it or not, many companies that churn out pornography are legitimate (if not respectable) businesses. They may lawfully make, sell and distribute pornographic videos and images. Fighting for legislation to outlaw pornography would make for an embittered battle with few winners on either side.
Purging the Internet of pornography won't happen. Ridding cyberspace of the more vile forms of it, however, is not a fruitless battle. Pedophilia, for example, which has gotten a great deal of exposure in the media in recent years, isn't an impossible task. Pedophilia is illegal (and rightfully so!) and deserves to be cornered and slain by Internet users worldwide. Even the porn distributors I mentioned earlier have a stake in seeing illegal pornography done away with, as they detract from legal forms of adult entertainment. These companies should be working with law enforcement across the globe to help put the worst perpetrators behind bars.
Sex sells on the Internet. It's too big an industry to kill. In this case, offended users will just have to turn a blind eye to what they hate. Install security software on your computer if you want to avoid seeing naked women on your screen, and get filters on your web browsers to keep your children from looking for the same. You can't get rid of porn, but you don't have to acknowledge it, either.