Jordan demonstrators seek to block net porn

Dozens of Jordanians demonstrated yesterday urging the government to block pornographic websites in the kingdom, the Jordan Times reported.

Internet in the country has mostly been uncensored by authorities, however activists and conservative Jordanians have rallied and launched campaigns on social networking sites including Facebook calling on authorities to block sites they say inflict "any negative physical or psychological impact on the younger generation," the newspaper reported.

"The government should immediately instruct telecom companies and internet services providers to block these websites," the Amman-based newspaper reported, citing Ammar Al Saket, a father of two who launched a campaign on Facebook to block pornographic sites.

"The majority of those who use the internet in Jordan are children and young people. Sometimes when internet users surf the web looking for some educational, historical or scientific information, a link or a window appears with pornographic content," Saket said during the protest.

The Facebook campaign, which was launched in February, has gathered about 34,000 followers.