Censorship
Art News Site 'Hyperallergic' Tackles Instagram Censorship Over Bogus 'Sexual Solicitation'
Prominent art news site Hyperallergic has published an essay targeting Instagram's controversial practice of censoring sexual content by inaccurately labeling posts as “sexual solicitation.”
Ohio Activist Holds on to School Board Seat After Posting Porn Link
A school board member in Ohio who is active in the ongoing GOP campaign to ban books deemed "pornographic" from libraries across the country is resisting pressure to resign after she shared a link to an actual porn website during one of her morality tirades on Facebook.
French Regulator Initiates Action to Block 2 More Adult Tube Sites
Several weeks after targeting five leading adult tube sites, France’s media regulator ARCOM has initiated a new legal action, this time demanding that the country’s ISPs totally block MindGeek-owned sites YouPorn and RedTube over their alleged lack of enforcement of a controversial age verification mandate.
Council of Europe Urges Mandatory 'Porn Filters,' Endorses 'Porn Addiction' Myth
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the continent’s main post-World War II human rights organization, issued a resolution today urging European nations to mandate online filters for “pornographic materials” on all devices, to be “systematically activated in public spaces, such as schools, libraries and youth clubs.”
Woodhull Files Appeal in FOSTA-SESTA Challenge Suit
The Woodhull Freedom Foundation has filed an appeal in its suit challenging the constitutionality of FOSTA-SESTA.
Influential Labour MP Asks UK Government to 'Proactively' Police Adult Content
As the U.K.’s Online Safety Bill navigates the committee stage in the House of Commons, the Labour MP who chairs the Home Affairs Committee is actively lobbying to make the government proactively police “whether adult entertainers have properly consented to appear in pornographic films” even if there are no reports suggesting they have not.
XBIZ News Editor Speaks at UC Santa Barbara on 'War on Porn'
XBIZ News Editor Gustavo Turner spoke yesterday about the “War on Porn” as part of professor Constance Penley’s film and media studies class on pornography at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Louisiana's Anti-Porn 'Age Verification' Bill Spawns Free Speech Concerns
Reports of a novel proposed Louisiana bill that would allow any state resident to sue any company for failing to implement age verification to prevent minors from accessing “pornography” have already prompted concerns about the religious conservatives’ use of state-level "lawfare" to undermine the landmark Reno v. ACLU Supreme Court decision.
New Bill Would Let Louisiana Residents Sue Adult Sites Over Age Verification
A religious Louisiana legislator has proposed a new bill to allow state residents to sue any commercial entity for failing to implement age verification to prevent minors from accessing “content online that could be harmful to them, such as pornography."
Senators Blumenthal, Blackburn Introduce Another Controversial Online Regulation Bill: KOSA
Digital rights advocates are sounding the alarm about privacy and censorship concerns regarding the Kids Online Safety Act of 2022, recently introduced by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee).
Texas Judges Claim Jurisdiction Over Facebook Lawsuit Challenging Section 230
Texas' Fourteenth Court of Appeals denied yesterday Facebook’s appeal to dismiss a lawsuit in which lawyers for anonymous plaintiffs argued the platform “facilitated the sex trafficking of minors” and is not protected from liability by Section 230.
Just Say 'Corn': Washington Post Highlights Hypocrisy of 'Algospeak'
The Washington Post published a lengthy report today highlighting the hypocrisy of algorithmic censorship, which has forced sex workers and others to develop “Algospeak,” nonsensical euphemisms to refer to banned words and concepts.
German Regulator Who Shut Down xHamster Unveils New AI Surveillance Tool
The local official crusading for Germany to hide all sexual content behind an age verification wall unveiled this week an AI tool called KIVI, which automatically scans all online content to determine which images are not compliant with the law.
Prism Highlights Role of Sex Workers, Educators in Censorship Fight
Independent news outlet Prism published a report today highlighting how sex workers and sex educators are leading the call for clearer rules for online engagement, to prevent censorship and erasure.
Cherie DeVille Pens Op-Ed on Germany's 'War on Porn'
The Daily Beast published an opinion piece by Cherie DeVille on Friday about the dangers of European legislation that could become “the first step toward kicking sex workers off the internet and banning porn entirely.”
DC Court Upholds FOSTA-SESTA, Rejects Free-Speech Challenge
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected a legal challenge to FOSTA-SESTA presented by First Amendment and free speech advocates, ruling that the U.S. government can continue enforcing the controversial legislation.
Sen. Rick Scott's GOP Platform Proposes Return to 'Obscenity' Prosecutions
Florida Senator Rick Scott’s proposal for the first new Republican Party platform since 2014 includes a section claiming there is an “explosion of pornography” and that a GOP administration “must defend the American family from societal elements that erode it” by reviving federal obscenity prosecutions.
Idaho Republicans Repeat Claims of 'Pornography' in Libraries
Republican state legislators in Idaho announced over the weekend that they will be forming a “working group” to study allegations that the state’s libraries are making “explicit” or “pornographic” materials available to minors.
German Regulator Who Shut Down xHamster Describes Own Mission as 'Kafkaesque'
Tobias Schmid, the obscure local bureaucrat who spearheads Germany’s War on Porn and recently led a successful movement to force ISPs to ban xHamster in the country, gave an interview last week in which he admitted he has “no clear answer” on how to make age verification effective and acknowledged his anti-porn crusade is “a bit Kafkaesque.”
Flickr Starts Charging Users for 'Artistic' Nude Uploads
Photo sharing platform Flickr unveiled new terms of service last week, revealing that it will allow nudes and a few other types of sexual expression to be posted only by users who have paid for a Flickr Pro account.