This year, 2024, is turning out to be an interesting one with regards to children’s access to online pornography. Sixteen states have passed new laws requiring stricter levels of proof that a viewer is over the age of 18 before a web site can allow them to view their pages. These states are: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Virginia. Because of these new laws many porn sites, including PornHub & xHamster (#1 & #4, worldwide, respectively) have electronically “boycotted” those states in protest. To be fair, they also did it to avoid the wrath of various states’ Attorneys General!
What’s going on here?
Well, for decades (yes, DECADES) the only thing keeping kids out of porn sites were weak, ineffective barriers such as this screenshot from PornHub.com:
Now, this was probably as effective in slowing down 13-14 year olds as a wet paper towel!
Well, various state legislatures felt the same way and passed laws that required much more stringent actions to prove a web surfer’s age. For instance, the Texas law (I’m a Texan) requires “users to provide:
- Digital Identification, or
- Comply with a commercial age verification systems that verifies age using: (A) Government-issues identification; or (B) a commercially reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional data to verify the age of an individual.”
Well, as you would expect, this went to court. The 5th Circuit court struck down other provisions of the law, which I have not listed because they were struck down, but kept the requirements listed above.
So, PornHub, and other adult web sites, decided to boycott the Great State of Texas (and other states with similar laws) electronically. If PornHub’s web site detects that someone is trying to access their web site from an address in Texas then the web site displays the following:
Similar pages are also now appearing on other adult web sites, but not all. And they appear when you try to access those sites from other states with such laws.
Texas, and possibly other states, are now taking their laws to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).
The porn companies are saying that such age verification laws infringe on constitutionally protected free speech for adults.
REALLY?
Last I checked, I have to show an ID for the following to prove I am of age:
- BUY an adult magazine
- Attend an R, X, or NC-17 rated movie
- Go into an adult “establishment”, be it a night club, strip bar, or nude beach.
- To buy cough syrup
- To buy spray paint
- To buy tobacco products and butane lighters
- To buy adult beverages
- To purchase firearms
- To pick up certain prescriptions
- To cash a check (yes, I still use them!)
All of these requirements are to ensure that children/minors cannot be exposed to material for, or use products that are restricted for, adults. This is because THEY ARE MINORS who are still developing and these products can harm them, especially since they don’t have the knowledge or maturity to safely have them.
Now, I don’t think that the porn companies are fighting for people’s constitutional rights. My guess (which is how my lawyers would like me to put it) is that they are worried about their MONEY!
You see, adult sites make money two ways: Memberships and Advertising. The “free” sites depend on the latter.
On the Internet, for every page view or for every ad click, any web site can make money. And the over-all volume of visitors/click can impact the rates they charge and the grosses they can amass. If, suddenly, everyone has to prove they are over 18, many adult web site will see a drop in visitors/clicks. In addition, they have to deal with the expense of verifying everyone. This slows things down.
And this is what is going on in 16 states to protect our children. Applaud your legislators!
Some argue that this is ludicrous as minors will find a way around such requirements. Well, kids have been illegally buying alcohol and getting fake IDs for decades, but that doesn’t mean we don’t stop trying to protect them! We prosecute those who illegally provide alcohol, and other prohibited items, to minors. And we work to close the loopholes. We, as a society, can do the same for our children’s access to age-inappropriate material.
And, yes, there are loopholes and ways around these new boycotts. I won’t list them, though. I don’t know if you are over 18!
Here are some other articles from Blogging the Knights’ Quest:
Should Your Family Try the New Public Betas for Apple and Android?
HELP! My Child Hit A Porn Site! What Do I Do NOW????
ONLINE PORN: It’s A Girl Problem Now….