War On Porn
Southern Baptist Leaders: 'Fight Porn' Instead of Church's History of White Supremacy, Sex Scandals
Southern Baptist religious leaders have compared the current War on Porn in general — and the attack on Pornhub, in particular — to the early Church fight against “pagan culture” and have asked for state censorship of all pornography, calling this constitutionally-protected exercise of free speech “an individual private indulgence” that combines “sexual abuse and trafficking” and “the lie that a fleeting sexual high is at the core of what it means to be human.”
Senators Propose Far-Reaching New Adult Industry Regulations
Earlier today, Senators Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced bipartisan legislation, dubbed the "Stop Internet Sexual Exploitation Act," intended to "prevent the uploading of pornographic images to online platforms without the consent of the individuals in the images."
EFF Warns Against Giving Credit Cards 'Censorship Power'
Prominent digital rights advocacy group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) published an editorial yesterday warning about the censorship power of credit card companies, after Visa and Mastercard cut off Pornhub from their payment networks.
Op-Ed: Adult Industry Has Much Better Track Record Monitoring User-Generated Content Than Big Tech
The article posted by the writer Nicholas Kristof on December 4 in the New York Times tells a heart-wrenching story with a narrow focus on only one company and one issue that plagues many giant tech companies on both adult entertainment and mainstream platforms, including but not limited to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, XVideos, Pornhub and virtually every platform that accepts user generated content (UGC) on a massive scale.
Pornhub Responds to Visa and Mastercard Decision, New York Times Allegations
Pornhub has released two statements about yesterday’s announcement by Visa and Mastercard that their cards would no longer be accepted on the platform, following an editorial by Nicholas Kristof published by the New York Times, which makes a number of allegations against the company.
Visa, Mastercard Freeze Card Use on Pornhub
Credit card giant Mastercard Inc. released a statement today saying it will not allow their cards to be used for payments on Pornhub.
Lindsey Graham Withdraws Own Section 230 Bill After Debate
After scheduling and facilitating a lengthy, largely pointless debate on Section 230 this morning at the Committee on the Judiciary, which he chairs, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) withdrew his S. 4632 bill — the ”Online Content Policy Modernization Act” — from consideration.
Backpage: Appeals Court Validates Questions Raised by Defendants
In a procedural win for the former owners of adult classifieds website Backpage.com, a two-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered federal prosecutors to address the defense’s request for the judge overseeing the criminal trial to remove herself from it.
Missouri Senator Introduces Bill Facilitating Lawsuits Against Adult Sites
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a bill today to “enable victims of revenge porn, trafficking and sexual coercion” to sue websites posting images and videos without their consent.
Tallahassee Officials Target Adult Boutiques as 'Red Light District'
Only weeks after a Georgia county successfully put an adult boutique out of business by altering its zoning regulations for that specific purpose, politicians at another county in the South — Leon County, home of Florida state capital Tallahassee — are targeting adult businesses with a copycat argument.
Opinion: New York Times Fights Pornhub With Emotional Pornography
New York Times opinion writer Nicholas Kristof today published a sensationalistic call for state censorship and financial strangulation of Pornhub, packaged around gut-punching testimonials from young victims of sexual exploitation.
Top Biden Advisor Bruce Reed Renews Call for Section 230 Reform
The closest advisor on tech matters to presumptive President-elect Joe Biden, Bruce Reed, doubled down yesterday on weakening Section 230 protections, saying that “it’s long past time to hold the social media companies accountable for what’s published on their platforms.”
Trump Attempts to Force Section 230 'Termination' Into Defense Bill
In the latest in a series of procedurally unprecedented presidential attempts to repeal the so-called First Amendment of the internet, Donald Trump confirmed last night via Twitter that he would veto the nation’s principal defense bill unless Congress adds a section “completely terminating” Section 230 protections.
Backpage.com Trial: Defendants Ask Appeals Court to Remove Judge
Former Backpage owners Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin filed a petition with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday seeking an order to recuse the Phoenix federal judge presiding over their criminal trial.
Senators Renew Attack on Section 230 Following Election
During a nationwide spike of COVID-19 cases and only hours after the Georgia Secretary of State accused him of tampering with the presidential election results, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) revived his ongoing crusade against Section 230 protections — the so-called First Amendment of the internet — during a highly politicized interrogation of two tech entrepreneurs at the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Indian State 'Cyber Police' Targets Platforms for Adult Content
The Cyber Police agency of the Indian state of Maharashtra — the region that includes populous Mumbai — has formally accused several platforms of “transmitting sexually explicit and obscene content online.”
Thai Minister Uses Anti-Porn Crusaders' Arguments to Justify Ban
Thailand’s Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta offered further explanations behind the ruling party’s ban of 190 adult content websites, including Pornhub, in language identical to that of well-funded, religiously inspired anti-porn crusading U.S. groups like Exodus Cry and NCOSE.
Thai Government: Online Porn Ban Involves 190 Sites
The Thai government’s crackdown on online adult content, noticed yesterday by users trying to access Pornhub from the Southeast Asian nation, has been confirmed by the authorities, who also said the new ban — effected as the country is reeling from street protests and calls for the military party to step down — involves 190 websites.
Thai Rulers Crack Down on Online Porn
Beleaguered by street protests and calls for their resignation, the current ruling party in Thailand — spawned from the military junta which ruled the country after a 2014 coup — has reportedly announced it is cracking down on adult content and banning access to Pornhub, one of the nation’s most visited sites.
Latest Section 230 Bill Proposal Seeks to Define Adult Content
In the middle of the COVID-19 public health crisis and only days before the 2020 national election, representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.) has just introduced yet another legislative proposal aimed at ending Section 230 protections, and his CASE-IT Act has the distinction of attempting to define adult content in explicit and broad terms.