Ruling on adult-only videos maintains ban on mail order sales

by Daniel Farey-Jones, Brand Republic 25-May-05, 07:00

LONDON - The High Court has rejected an appeal by two mail order adult shops to end the prohibition of the sale of explicit videos except in stores.

Lord Justice Maurice Kay and Mr Justice Newman said videos rated R18, the most explicit category covering hardcore porn, must continue to be sold face to face and not via catalogues, the web or over the phone.

The judges supported the existing restriction in order to protect children. Lord Justice Kay said: "One of the main reasons for the restriction is to ensure that the customer comes face-to-face with the supplier... it is a disincentive to a visibly under-age customer to seek out the forbidden material."

The two shops, Birmingham-based Pabo and Essex-based Interact, were appealing against fines applied by Liverpool Magistrates Court last year. They were successfully prosecuted by Liverpool City Council for contravening the 1984 Video Recordings Act by offering to supply R18 videos in their website catalogues.

Interfact's lawyer, David Pannick QC, had argued that restricting mail order would breach the right to freedom of expression, but the judges ruled that it did not.

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