Censorship
Georgia Judge Orders Tokyo Valentino Location Shuttered
A Cobb County Superior Court judge has ordered a Tokyo Valentino store closed as the adult boutique awaits an appeal over a zoning and licensing dispute instigated by local officials who oppose “sexually oriented businesses” in the Atlanta-area city of East Cobb.
Instagram Activates Default 'Explore' Filter Targeting 'Sexually Suggestive' Posts
Instagram announced on Tuesday the launch of a feature called “Sensitive Content Control” and set, as a default for all users, an option that prevents the app's “Explore” feature from showing posts that the company’s algorithms and human moderators deem “sexually suggestive or violent.”
ACLU Warns Against Biden's Latest Attack on Section 230
The ACLU sharply criticized President Joe Biden and his administration for his direct attack on Section 230 liability protections, which the White House has blamed for a proliferation of misinformation.
Federal Agency Endorses Campaign by Germany's 'Top Anti-Porn Warrior'
The one-man War on Porn being conducted in Germany by an obscure, conservative local bureaucrat from the North Rhine-Westphalia region has now gone federal, with his attempt to “shut down” all major tube sites over alleged age-verification infractions receiving the blessing of the federal Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz or KJM).
Kenya: Free Speech Groups Warn Against Total Porn Ban Proposal
Several free speech groups sent an open letter last week to a Kenyan MP who has been pushing forward a restrictive amendment to the country’s 2018 “Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act” (CMCA), including a blanket ban on all “pornography.”
MindGeek Lawyers Ask Alabama Judge to Uphold Section 230 Protections
MindGeek lawyers presented this week their first on-record Section 230 arguments in the current onslaught of liability lawsuits over third-party content uploaded onto Pornhub, part of the War on Porn-driven campaign that kicked off with Nicholas Kristof’s New York Times article in early December 2020.
Cherie DeVille Op-Ed Decries Instagram Bias Against Trans Performers
A new op-ed by Cherie DeVille for The Daily Beast, published on Monday, addresses the blatant discrimination against trans performers on Facebook-owned Instagram even as the companies paid lip-service to LGBTQ+ rights during Pride Month.
It's the Moderation, Stupid: Conservative Platform Gettr Faces 'Sonic the Hedgehog Porn' Issues
After the tumultuous collapse of Parler earlier this year, the current turmoil around adult content posted on startup platform Gettr highlights the problematic paradox at the core of marketing “free speech” platforms aimed at conservatives and others on the political right.
Florida Judge Halts Controversial 'Free Speech' Law
A Florida court enjoined last week the implementation of Florida’s controversial new law making social media platforms liable for moderation policies, in the name of political — but not sexual — "free speech."
MasterCard Execs Meet With APAG, FSC Over New Processing Rules
Executives from MasterCard held a meeting yesterday with representatives from adult performers union APAG and industry trade group Free Speech Coalition (FSC) to discuss the upcoming rule changes for credit card processing of adult content.
Tokyo Valentino Owner Fights to Keep Georgia Adult Boutiques Open
Michael Morrison, owner of the Southern adult boutique chain Tokyo Valentino, gave an interview to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution explaining the ongoing zoning battle provoked by conservative city council politicians and lawyers attempting to chase his business out of two Georgia locations.
NCOSE Activist Opens TikTok Account to Spread Anti-Sex Work Propaganda
Haley McNamara, an activist affiliated with powerful, religiously-inspired anti-porn lobby NCOSE (formerly Morality in Media), has started a TikTok account to spread propaganda targeting adult content and sex worker rights.
India Moves Forward to Compel Twitter to Ban All Adult Content
India’s National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is moving forward with proceedings to “ban the access of children to Twitter” in the country until the platform “completely removes all pornographic material.”
Texas Supreme Court Denies Section 230 Protection for Third-Party Content, Citing FOSTA/SESTAA
n a stunning 33-page decision, the Texas Supreme Court denied Facebook’s liability immunity for third party content based on Section 230 — the so-called “First Amendment of the internet" — with the majority opinion quoting FOSTA/SESTA to state that Section 230 “was never intended to provide legal protection to websites that facilitate traffickers in advertising the sale of unlawful sex acts with sex trafficking victims.”
DOJ Releases Statement on Sentencing of GirlsDoPorn Recruiter
The U.S. Department of Justice released a statement regarding the June 14 sentencing of GirlsDoPorn (GDP) recruiter and male talent Ruben Andre "Dre" Garcia to 20 years in prison for “conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion.”
Montana City Blocks Adam & Eve Sign Due to 'Moral Concerns'
Adam & Eve has received a conditional use authorization to open an adult boutique in Helena, Montana; however, the local zoning commission stipulated that the business could not have a pole-mounted sign like its neighboring stores due to “moral concerns.”
Germany's Top Censorship Advocate Moves Forward Against xHamster
Germany’s most vocal proponent of state censorship of adult content, an obscure local bureaucrat named Tobias Schmid who serves as the head of the State Media Authority (LMA) of North Rhine-Westphalia, announced this week he has identified the hosting provider of xHamster in order to continue actions towards blocking the site.
Opinion: How the 'War on Porn' Became the 'War on Porn Education'
Almost three decades after Bill Clinton fired his Surgeon General for merely stating that masturbation “is a part of human sexuality, and it's a part of something that perhaps should be taught,” the subject of sex ed finds itself once again embroiled in a culture war which, like that 1994 incident, is stoked by sensationalistic press reports.
Eighth Circuit to Hear South Dakota Prison Censorship Appeal
The ongoing Free Speech saga pitching one South Dakota inmate against his prison’s policy banning sexual content will continue after the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals is again considering the case.
MindGeek Calls Criminal Allegations in Civil Suit Over Third-Party Content 'Absurd, Reckless'
MindGeek has responded to the massive civil lawsuit filed yesterday by a group of attorneys, headed by a former lawyer for Donald Trump and Jerry Falwell Jr. on behalf of women whose videos were uploaded onto Pornhub by third parties, by reiterating their commitment to “eradicating illegal content" and by having implemented earlier this year “the most comprehensive safeguards in user-generated platform history."