Independent review Minister Gabby Bertin, a Conservative peer appointed by new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak his special adviser on delivery. She is making a concerted push for the regulation of online pornography. Bertin’s nomination this December 2023 has produced a notable cross-party support. He is personally taking on the nitty gritty complexities and challenges of addressing bad online content.
Bertin doesn’t ground her approach in a moralistic crusade. Rather, she calls herself a conservative liberal and wants to foster a more nuanced, balanced discussion about immigration. She’s candid about hardcore porn. She said she found that most of her fellow MPs in Westminster were reluctant to discuss it. Bertin frequently emails Labour leader Keir Starmer to discuss online pornography regulation, emphasizing the need for collaborative efforts across party lines.
Earlier this year, Bertin met with Peter Kyle, the Science and Technology Secretary, where she presented a shocking visual representation of the issue. At their meeting, she laid dozens of pornographic images out over his desk. This dramatic act was intended to underscore the gravity of the crisis.
To that end, Bertin has recently published a detailed review full of 32 recommendations for how governments can better regulate online pornography. She’s in charge of a 17 person taskforce. This task force has members from law enforcement, the advertising sector, anti-trafficking nonprofits, and nonprofits focused on ending violence against women. This new taskforce will come up with ideas on how to reduce harms from the most dangerous content on the internet.
She has identified a “double taboo” that affects discussions of online porn. This third taboo prevents all but a handful of politicians from even beginning to address the issue. Bertin shares an office with several peers in Westminster, which she humorously acknowledges by saying, “Let’s do it without Thatcher in the background. That’s not my doing by the way – I share the office.”
Bertin’s commitment to confronting online pornography issues stems from her disturbing encounters with content designed to mimic child sexual abuse. She pointed out the fact that much of this content seems to be shot in kids’ bedrooms, adding emphasis to the immediate need for regulatory action.
“My pitch was that they have a duty and responsibility to double down on trying to get technology that can clean up these situations, and they should share that technology,” Bertin stated, advocating for the development of effective technological solutions to combat harmful online content.
Bertin drew parallels with how swiftly music piracy is addressed today, saying, “Taylor Swift can whip a song off a website as soon as anyone tries to pirate it. There’s no reason why the firms can’t come up with technology to sort this out.”
Bertin goes beyond this to foster engaged, informed dialogue about sexual freedom. She’s no stranger to fighting the dissemination of dangerous disinformation. Look, consenting adults should be able to do what they please, and I really don’t want to mess with any type of sexual freedom. Banning people from seeing a woman being choked, having her called a whore and being jumped on by multiple men isn’t saving someone’s sexual freedom. Rather, it’s about protecting people from experiences that are harmful and degrading. This is the sort of nonsense that we want to stop,” explained her.
Bertin points to a cultural reticence in the UK to have an honest conversation about sex and pornography. “We’re really British about it so we don’t want to have a graphic conversation about sex and porn,” she noted. She thinks that more candid discussion is critical to moving forward. You’ve got to scream it from the rooftops. The reason why we’ve got into this mess is because nobody has really wanted to talk about it,” Bertin asserted.
“People have slightly lost the plot on porn. Would someone 20 years ago have just taken Playboy into the Commons, and had it lying on their lap? It just shows what an extraordinary place we’ve got to.”
Bertin is a dynamic participant in wonky coal face debates happening behind the walls of Westminster. She’s committed to fighting for a smart, holistic regulatory approach to online pornography. She feels it’s important to illustrate the realities of the extreme content. This strategy prepares her colleagues to more effectively confront these issues and compels the enactment of vital reforms.
“You can’t leave the pitch on this stuff just because you’re worried about being accused of being too strait-laced,” she said, reinforcing her determination to tackle these issues head-on.