Just a couple of weeks ago, the British Culture Secretary did an interview about how they intend to force cinema-style ratings onto websites. He also said they were planning to negotiate with the Obama administration to make the rules international.
Maybe Sunstein can be their point man on the new censorship regime. I'm sure Senator Clinton would love to negotiate that treaty (for the children!) as Sec. State..
Hmm, I'm not so sure about the X/AO analogy fits. The only reason porn studios don't bother getting a NC-17 rating is because they skip theaters and mainstream retail anyway. If they really wanted to waste the money, they probably could.
After all, there's a few NC-17 indy and foreign films which might run the risk of qualifying as "obscenity" if shown to a minor. E.G. "Inside Deep Throat" (documentary about the porn movie, with graphic clips from same), "The Dreamers," or "Lust, Caution." Not to mention a handful of old, officially X rated films that moved to NC-17 after the changeover.