Live data from Hacker News

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

kslnewsradio.com

371–380 of 1001 posts

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

#372
post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But is pornography dangerous for minors? Has it been researched? What "dangers" are there? Do these apply to all age groups of "minors"?

I think it's perfectly fine to assume that pornography might warp a child's view of sex and intimacy. The solution shouldn't be to force people to identify themselves, though. Parents have all the tools they need to shield their children from pornhub, if they so wish.

I know HN tends toward the libertarian slant, but this same perspective can be applied to all kinds of ills that are regulated, from smoking to driving.

This falls into the common refrain about "what do we do with kids who don't have responsible parents?"

I'm not sure just letting the chips fall where they may when it comes to kids who got a shit roll of the dice when it comes to parents is a great societal solution.

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

#373
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just my own thoughts: there could theoretically be an identity system that simply replies "Yes/No" if someone is underage or not. But nothing like this exists to my knowledge.

That service would need to be run by a third party, which would know your id and the fact that you are trying to access pornhub, wouldn't it?

You could have a design where encrypted requests and responses were routed so that the relying party (PornHub) new who the responding party (third party verifier) was, but the responding party only knew who the requesting party (user) was, and then only at the level of “the same party making the request to view”, not their actual identity.

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

#374
post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Don't need an ID to buy a tablet. Or a used phone. Or back in the day, a Nintendo DS or PSP even. I'm sure I still have a PSP Memory Stick around here someone with saucy pixel art stashed away in the bookmarks. This is a genie that hasn't been in a bottle since the internet was born and it won't be put back in one now. At least not like this.

I don't see how that relates to whether or not this is a maximalist approach.

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

#375

Multiple issues with this. It starts off with arbitrary definitions of what pornography is ( https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/static/SB0287.html ): "nipple of the female breast" You can suck on it when you are a baby, but god forbid you ever take a look at it again before you are married. What's wrong with these people? Even public nudity laws differ from city to city (e.g. in California), so clearly, people aren't al…

Is there a mechanism for empowering a polity to protect minors from certain things the polity deems they're not ready for that doesn't rely on arbitrary rules?

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

#376
post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't interview someone about something before that something exists though, which is what the parent comment is proposing.

Internet pornography exists, last I checked (also when I first checked, but apparently that should have been illegal). What are you referring to?

[deleted]

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

#378

[flagged]

The porn industry exploits vulnerable women and ruins their lives, forces them to do stuff they never signed for and much more. You trying to paint this issue as a white and black political thing makes you dismiss all the victims from this industry. You're basically dismissing it as "if you're part of this specific political team you should support/be against this"

Yes and you pointing out victimization in the industry, a lot of which stems from the industry's "black sheep" status, also paints the issue as black and white.

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

#379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This happens to me at self-checkout at Safeway. I guess I can get somebody to come and check my ID, but seems unnecessary.

Right? Why can't you scan your ID and then be prompted what information to share with the system, like age? I scan my ID, the system asks to retrieve age information, it retrieves it, now I can proceed to scan my alcohol. No human interaction required. If the person manning the self-checkout operations thinks you look awfully young to be buying alcohol then they can always demand to see your ID. Simple.

No way to check you're actually the person on the ID this way

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

#380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's an absolutely horrible idea. It only makes sense if maybe there's serious neglect by the parents, knowingly allowing it to continue. But probably that level of neglect is already illegal somehow anyway. I mean, when I was a teenager I already knew how to program and my mother was completely tech illiterate. So how the hell was she supposed to control what a chronically horny teenage boy was getting up to on the…

I agree. But if Utah thinks that controlling horny teenage boys is such a vital state interest that it merits abrogating the first amendment, how can it be unreasonable to hold parents accountable?

Well, parents have to be pretty terrible at their job before taking the kids and putting them in a foster home is actually an improvement to their lives. From what I hear about CPS in the US, it should be the very last resort.

We should also remember that teenagers are supposed to disobey their parents. It's not really the norm to have much control over your teenage children. That's just a natural stage of development from a dependent child to an independent adult who makes their own decisions. Sometimes teenagers just have to learn the hard way.

I feel like porn is mostly harmful in combination with loneliness. I had a pretty bad addiction to it as a teenager but it kind of fixed itself when I started dating at 18 and realised the disconnect between porn and the real deal. If that never happened, I'd probably be a woman-hating incel by now.

Post reply on HN