uk adult web sites, are they legal?

[matureman]

Hello all, newbie here. Dont know if you can help me with something that has been puzzling me.... I know that pornography laws have been relaxed in recent years, but are the authorities still working under the guidlines of the obscene publications act of donkeys years ago. There seem to be hundreds of uk hardcore sites are these legal or are the authorities just turning a blind eye?

[alec]

The servers on which they are hosted are not located in the UK.

[android]

ok, well maybe i am wrong but it doesnt matter where its hosted, does it?

[Frank]

I had reason to consult a lawyer specialising in internet pornography laws recently, and I was advised that at the moment the police are totally uninterested in any adult pornography on the net or in computers - all they are intersted in is anything involing childern under 16. That is where all their efforts are being concentrated.

[jobbydealer]

Tomsk is correct in that an upload from the UK is considered publishing under the OPA.

It is also correct to say that at this time the police are more interested in child porn than 'normal' porn but the OPA has not been revised and therefore still stands.

The situation is that a more relaxed view is being taken, but be that as it may an obscenity is still an obscenity if it fails the test.