Undesirable Publications Act In 1967, Parliament passed the Undesirable Publications Act, empowering the government to prohibit the importation, distribution and reproduction of undesirable publications. Publications proscribed as ‘undesirable’ include those thought likely to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely to be exposed to their contents. This may be because the material is obscene or is thought to deal with matters of race or religion either insensitively or in a derogatory fashion. Under the Act, the term ‘publications’ extends beyond printed matter and includes sound recordings and films.

Banned books are typically pornographic in nature, although there have been instances where the ban has been imposed on publications deemed to be offensive to religious groups, as in the case of Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses. A blanket ban may be imposed on publications emanating from an organization that has been proscribed, such as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (publishing arm of the Jehovah’s Witnesses). A proscribed publication that was the subject of considerable international discussion was the magazine Cosmopolitan, which the government felt undesirable as it promoted promiscuous lifestyles. The ban on Cosmopolitan was lifted in September 2004, although copies on sale must be shrink- wrapped, and carry a warning label that its contents are ‘Unsuitable for the Young’.