The head of Information Technology Services at the Telecommunications Board has called for a comprehensive plan to tackle pornography on the Internet. Mishal Al-Qadahi, speaking at the Makkah Literary Club on Sunday, warned of the threat of pornography and said that 75 percent of blocked Internet sites contained pornographic material. “These sites go beyond a visual experience and lead to more dangerous actual application seen in the crimes we read about concerning women and children in public places and other crimes against morality,” Al-Qadahi said. According to Al-Qadahi, parents are unaware of the content of 97 percent of children's computer games, saying that many of them are of a sexual nature, and noted that Australia bans the import of any game or video unsuitable for children under the age of 15. “The dissemination of pornographic images is a global concern,” Al-Qadahi said. “In the United States of America the rate of sexual offenses increased twenty times between 1996 and 2006, along with an increase in cases of rape, homosexuality and murder resulting from pornographic materials.” Al-Qadahi said that a concerted strategy to counter it should contain awareness and preaching efforts and development of religious restraint, while providing constructive alternatives and bringing in legislation and punishments. “We also need to reinforce the role of monitoring and security authorities, and open clinics and hospitals specialized in treating such cases,” he said.
