Labour's 'extreme' porn ban threatens free speech

In 1964, US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart struggled to define hardcore pornography, eventually settling on his infamous test: "I know it when I see it." Over 60 years later, the Labour Party has come up with its own addendum: we know it's disgusting, so we're banning it.

From November, new offences will criminalise the possession and publication of certain pornographic material depicting strangulation, incest and adults pretending to be children. Ministers will no doubt congratulate themselves on another victory for safeguarding, but banning something unpopular is easy. Drawing a clear line between what is criminal and what isn't, enforcing it fairly, and dealing with the inevitable mistakes are considerably harder.