Iceland is working on banning Internet pornography , calling explicit online images a threat to children . ' '' There is a strong consensus building in Iceland , '' Halla Gunnarsdottir , an adviser to the nation 's Interior Minister , told England 's Daily Mail . `` We have so many experts , from educationalists to the police and those who work with children behind this , that this has become much broader than party politics . `` At the moment , we are looking at the best technical ways to achieve this . But surely if we can send a man to the moon , we must be able to tackle porn on the Internet . '' Such a step is somewhat surprising among Western nations that , for the most part , champion free-speech rights . But the move would n't be unprecedented in the island nation . Iceland has had laws banning the printing and distribution of pornography for years , but those laws have n't been updated to include the Web . And two years ago , the nation 's parliament banned strip clubs , saying they violate the rights of the women who work in them . Iceland would become the first Western democracy to try and block pornography online . Interior Minister Ogmundur Jonasson has appointed committees to study the best methods for keeping young people from seeing explicit images and videos on computers , game consoles and smartphones . The options being considered , according to the Daily Mail , include blocking the IP addresses of known porn sites and making it illegal to use credit cards from Iceland to subscribe to X-rated sites . `` This move is not anti-sex . It is anti-violence because young children are seeing porn and acting it out , '' Gunnarsdottir said . `` That is where we draw the line . This material is blurring the boundaries for young people about what is right and wrong . '' Attempting a total block of porn sites somewhere like the United States , with its legions of public and private portals onto the Web and the millions of software engineers who likely would spring into action to find workarounds , would be nearly impossible . But Iceland has a population of 322,000 -- roughly the same as St. Louis , Missouri . That , and its remote location 1,300 miles off of the coast of Europe , would make jamming or blocking Web traffic to certain sites easier , if that was the route the government there chose . The move is , predictably , drawing fire from Web-freedom advocates , including some in Iceland who agree with Jonasson on most issues . `` Since he claimed office as minister , Jonasson has brought forward progressive legislation and has shown that he can be a man of principles and courage . For that , I truly respect him , '' Birgitta Jonsdottir , a member of Iceland 's parliament who represents part of Reykjavik , wrote in an editorial for London 's The Guardian . `` But he is way off track in his attempts to place a shield around Iceland in order to 'stop porn ' from entering the country . '' A member of the parliament committee studying the issue , Jonsdottir says a porn ban has `` near zero '' chance of passing parliament and that she 's working to find other ways the government can help protect children from Web porn . `` Introducing censorship without compromising freedom of expression and speech is like trying to mix oil and water : It is impossible , '' she wrote . `` I know my fellow MPs can often turn strange and dangerous laws into reality , but this wo n't be one of them . ''
Iceland is studying ways to ban Internet porn . Government official says ban would be to protect children . Comment: Parliament member says ban has `` near zero '' chance of passing .