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PornHub blocks users in Utah, cites state’s age verification law

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Re: PornHub blocks users in Utah, cites state’s age verification law

#151

The US is also planning a law that would make it illegal to use VPNs to skirt laws like this: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/04/could-tiktok-ban...

Good luck with that ;) how are all those senators and congressmen going to watch porn with a law like that on the books?

Probably with no VPN and in public https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/apr/30/disgraced-t...

Re: PornHub blocks users in Utah, cites state’s age verification law

#152

The US is also planning a law that would make it illegal to use VPNs to skirt laws like this: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/04/could-tiktok-ban...

Good luck with that ;) how are all those senators and congressmen going to watch porn with a law like that on the books?

Since when have senators and congressmen been subject to the laws they pass?

Re: PornHub blocks users in Utah, cites state’s age verification law

#153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you arguing that booze is protected speech?

Are you arguing allowing children to view sexual acts is legally protected? Should we open up strip clubs and brothels for kids?

> Are you arguing allowing children to view sexual acts is legally protected?

Yes. I'm pretty sure the entire reason porn is legal is it's considered a 1FA issue in the US.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashcroft_v._Free_Speech_Coalit...

Re: PornHub blocks users in Utah, cites state’s age verification law

#154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The law is: > 72 (9) "Reasonable age verification methods" means verifying that the person seeking to > 73 access the material is 18 years old or older by using any of the following methods: > 74 (a) use of a digitized information card as defined in this section; > 75 (b) verification through an independent, third-party age verification service that > 76 compares the personal information entered by the individual who…

Is this much different to a shop needing ID to sell a pornographic magazine, to avoid selling it to a minor?

Sure, but the store wouldn’t keep a database keeping track of exactly what porn you bought.

It’s also like having stores check IDs when other porn is just floating by on the wind with regularity. Even if all of the major porn websites did checks there’s still Twitter, Telegram, Reddit, Google/Bing image search, torrents…

Re: PornHub blocks users in Utah, cites state’s age verification law

#155

This all seems a little disingenuous. First, from their summary, it doesn’t sound like the law actually requires checking a photo ID. They’re treating it like some maximalist regulation that it isn’t—it requires them to do more than nothing though. And also > PornHub said that a better solution is to identify users by their device. Pornhub effectively does absolutely nothing to verify users’ ages right now. Maybe it…

First admendment?

Amendments obviously don't apply to underage citizens. Otherwise, there would be no precedence for stopping children from buying firearms or voting.

Saying this is protected speech is ridiculous.

Re: PornHub blocks users in Utah, cites state’s age verification law

#156

The US is also planning a law that would make it illegal to use VPNs to skirt laws like this: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/04/could-tiktok-ban...

Good luck with that ;) how are all those senators and congressmen going to watch porn with a law like that on the books?

The same way they do all the other illegal stuff

Re: PornHub blocks users in Utah, cites state’s age verification law

#158
post #50
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if they did something I don't get that. Why would it be good? Why should it ever be a webpage's responsibility?

There are some people who believe that access to certain services should be age-gated. Thus follows that a web page offering the service should handle this age gating, in the same way that alcohol sellers are responsible for checking that their customers are of drinking age. In the Real World(TM) this is a fairly uncontroversial idea. The Internet is very wild west on these things and that has lead to interesting out…

I remember trying to buy some video games when I was a kid, and they wouldn't sell it to me because it was rated as 15+ and I wasn't 15. People would also check ages at movie theatres; I had some trouble getting in to Jurassic Park with my friend but we did manage, and also regretted it as I was scared witless for months, demonstrating that these age limits are perhaps not entirely nonsense.

A lot of people seem to have forgotten what the world was like 25 years ago.

Re: PornHub blocks users in Utah, cites state’s age verification law

#159

The US is also planning a law that would make it illegal to use VPNs to skirt laws like this: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/04/could-tiktok-ban...

There are countless programmers, from self taught amateurs to professional SWEs, white hats, grey hats and black hats, who would immediately jump at the opportunity to create stronger VPNs, mirror sites, Tor nodes, and other tools to allow the public to bypass these restrictions. Trying to control the Internet in America is a losing proposition, for better or worse.

I would have agreed with you 20 years ago. But I think today, large scale internet censorship would be feasible. My wife and I marvel at her (much younger) Gen Z siblings’ computer illiteracy. These kids are the iPad/walled garden generation. These laws would be effective to keep Internet porn out of the hands of a large majority of younger people. That’s especially true because so many kids rely on phones and iPads, so governments can easily control VPN apps and things like that by leaning on Apple and Google.

It obviously won’t keep information from getting out. But that’s not the purpose of things like anti-porn laws. Dramatically curtailing prevalence and access is sufficient.

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