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Pornhub Blocks All of Utah from Its Site

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Re: Pornhub Blocks All of Utah from Its Site

#31
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but I imagine that other porn sites are going to block Utah as well. That being said, nothing's really going to change unless Utah bans VPNs as well.

Websites that already flaunt the law (typically on copyright, but also on adult content distribution) because they're not US-based, will continue to do so. Only US-based operations will go to the trouble of blocking Utah. Which means Utah citizens will likely resort to non-US, less-regulated sites, making everything worse (more extreme content, less protections for people appearing in content, etc etc).

>Only US-based operations will go to the trouble of blocking Utah.

Apparently not, as Pornhub is Canadian.

Re: Pornhub Blocks All of Utah from Its Site

#32
post #9

How do state laws such as this not contradict federal interstate commerce laws?

There are many state laws that contradict a federal law. But they have to actually be challenged by a federal court in order to be nullified. States can make up all the hair-brained laws they want but if they never get sued by the feds then nobody cares.

For instance, all the states legalizing marijuana right now in defiance of federal law.

Re: Pornhub Blocks All of Utah from Its Site

#33
post #30

So Utah wins. I think the goal of these laws is to decrease porn usage primarily with any child safety benefit as secondary.

Do they win? Did the porn usage actually decrease? I'm not sure how you'd even measure that given common distribution areas like Reddit or Twitter. Unless someone does real research on this in a few months, I don't think anyone can be said to "win" here.

Short-term I would expect the usage to be registered as higher while people interested in porn are now checking other sites to figure out what's available.

Re: Pornhub Blocks All of Utah from Its Site

#34
post #30

So Utah wins. I think the goal of these laws is to decrease porn usage primarily with any child safety benefit as secondary.

Pornography is prohibited by Islam, and yet Islamic countries are among the largest consumers of pornography in the world. Humans need an outlet for sexual urges, and sexual repression only makes those urges more acute.

Re: Pornhub Blocks All of Utah from Its Site

#35
post #24

>> In 2021, Cox signed a law that would require device manufacturers to add adult content filters on all smartphones and tablets sold in Utah. I know this isn't in effect, but won't this hurt only Utah? Just don't sell devices there. People will buy them across the border.

California does this all the time, and this actually works for California because, well, they matter. Businesses want access to their market. Utah has less people than my city, and produces 0.9% of the national GDP. Anyone attempting to do business there at any scale also quickly realizes that it is not a secular state government and you'll have to bribe/work around the Mormon church.

[deleted]

Re: Pornhub Blocks All of Utah from Its Site

#36
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Websites that already flaunt the law (typically on copyright, but also on adult content distribution) because they're not US-based, will continue to do so. Only US-based operations will go to the trouble of blocking Utah. Which means Utah citizens will likely resort to non-US, less-regulated sites, making everything worse (more extreme content, less protections for people appearing in content, etc etc).

>Only US-based operations will go to the trouble of blocking Utah. Apparently not, as Pornhub is Canadian.

I expect Canada is not beyond the reach of US copyright law, in practice.

Re: Pornhub Blocks All of Utah from Its Site

#37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't Midjourney a valid matching name and government ID number

Obviously, but either you need to do a gov ID lookup (which, is it even possible/scalable/feasible JSUT for age checks?) or need to keep the ID proofs for an audit. I've only really seen ID checks for financial apps/services where proof of exact identity is required, not of age.

Probably no feasible in the US because of political reasons, but technical I think it could be done similar to how gamling works in Denmark.

You have a government SSO solution (2auth?) called NemID / MitID that is normally used for Banking[1], doctor or hospital appointment, library, student loans and what not.

But if you want to gamble on a Danish online casino you also have to verify your account with it. You can even set yourself on an exclusion list, and will be banned from all Danish online casinos. [2]

What is JSUT?

[1] No matter what bank you are at, same login, pretty neat

[2] https://www.spillemyndigheden.dk/en/rofus#-rofus-

Re: Pornhub Blocks All of Utah from Its Site

#38
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Websites that already flaunt the law (typically on copyright, but also on adult content distribution) because they're not US-based, will continue to do so. Only US-based operations will go to the trouble of blocking Utah. Which means Utah citizens will likely resort to non-US, less-regulated sites, making everything worse (more extreme content, less protections for people appearing in content, etc etc).

>Only US-based operations will go to the trouble of blocking Utah. Apparently not, as Pornhub is Canadian.

On paper PornHub seems headquartered in Cyprus, and parent company MindGeek in Luxembourg. Tax reasons both probably. But it doesn't matter because MindGeek also owns Brazzers, Reality Kings, and a bunch of other porn studios, and they operate out of the US ("porn valley") a lot. Simply ignoring US law can get them in to a lot of trouble. Even a EU-based outfit is relatively safe in comparison, never mind something located in Russia or whatnot.

Re: Pornhub Blocks All of Utah from Its Site

#39
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What problem has disappeared? There are still millions of porn sites accessible by Utahans of any age, no? (This is a genuine question. I’m not trying to be snippy, or even to disagree, just seeking clarification).

Yes, but I imagine that other porn sites are going to block Utah as well. That being said, nothing's really going to change unless Utah bans VPNs as well.

Until you can't type "porn" in Google and get it, immediately, for free, Utah has made no progress.

Re: Pornhub Blocks All of Utah from Its Site

#40

Let's say, for some unexpected idiotic reason, ID age verification becomes widespread for more than just porn. Wouldn't that be the first thing people than start generating via midjourney and similar AIs? Fake ids to pass age checks?

No but people are probably going to find that an entire school has a picture of their ID because their kid made a quick copy and shared it with their friends to access those sites.
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