The Communications Decency Act of 1996 was revoked later that year. There was a backlash against the law, says Mehta. People protested by posting more obscene material or by moving their website to another country where the law would have no impact. Mehta's findings underscore the daunting task facing legislators and enforcement officials around the world. The global nature of the Internet provides anonymity to those breaking the law and a jurisdictional nightmare for law enforcement agencies bound by national laws.
Censorship is a tool of the print culture and nation states.
Regulation is further complicated by the vastly different definitions of pornography around the world. A Canadian user can post illegal material via an American server, effectively bypassing Canadian law. Mehta's most startling finding is the pervasiveness of the problem. And most disturbing is the increase in images involving children and adults posing as children, from 15 per cent in 1994 to 20 per cent in 1996. He concludes that solutions will depend on self-regulation by service providers and the use of filtering software which parents can use to block websites with obscene material.