Summary
Several U.S. states have enacted laws requiring pornography sites, such as PornHub, to implement age verification to prevent minors’ access, prompting the site’s parent company, Aylo, to block access in affected states.
Proponents argue these laws protect children, while critics highlight privacy risks, inefficiencies, and potential censorship.
These measures reflect growing social conservatism, with some advocates aiming to restrict adult content broadly.
While privacy-focused age verification methods exist, regulatory clarity is lacking.
Critics warn these laws may suppress responsible platforms, favoring unregulated alternatives, and escalate broader culture wars around sexuality and LGBTQ+ rights.
It’s a classic tactic, use a somewhat legitimate concern (Minors having access to pornography). And blow it far out of proportion, and use it as an excuse to crackdown on what you’re really after. You will see people defending these bans because the “reasoning” they’re being presented SEEMS rational, but unwittingly they’re supporting a mass crackdown on their own rights.
See also: The constant push by governments to take away our right to private (encrypted) communications.
ItS tO prOteCT the CHILDRen’s comMUNIcaTIoN.
yeah no for sure and that’s why we should all install spyware onto our phones. there’s no “switch in the settings” to turn it off. (for a recent example, see the EU commission’s newest proposals.)
Won’t someone pleeeeeease think of the children!