Last night the House of Commons debated the possibility of regulation on the internet - one of the topics de nos jours.
The motion, put forward by Glasgow MP John Robertson, was that somebody should at least be responsible for looking at internet content (media regulator Ofcom has steered clear of this area, and the Byron review was fairly hands off about this topic).
It's the kind of argument that will get a lot of airing, which I think is only fair. But hidden in the mix of opinions was one that immediately drew my attention: the speaker was Madeleine Moon, the Labour MP for Bridgend in Wales, and this is what she said:
Does my hon. Friend agree that some of the sites about suicide are truly evil? They not only encourage, urge, assist and facilitate people to take their lives, but distract especially youngsters from finding the help, advice and guidance that would enable them to live full and productive lives. We must find some way of monitoring and closing them.
Whether or not you think there should be a ban on access to pro-suicide websites is one thing - but there's a dangerous assumption underlying her comments. Moon represents Bridgend, the area where a rash of youngsters have committed suicide in succession.
Early speculation suggested that there may have been a website spreading pro-suicide propaganda around the town: in fact, the police said they were not targeting any websites in the course of their investigation and it seemed merely that many of those who died (like most British teens) had an account on Bebo.
So where that leaves Moon's assertion, I'm not sure. She has previously railed against the media for its coverage of Bridgend, but then insists on spreading irrational fear based on an ill-informed rumour. You can't discuss the possibilities of regulation seriously if you're going to churn out nonsense like that in front of policy makers and ignore the information given out by the police and the coroner involved.
One day our politicians will get the internet, but it looks like it's still a very, very long way off.
