As I mentioned yesterday, winning back the nation is not going to happen in the space of a day, week, or even a year. It is going to have to be done almost on a person-by-person basis, or in this case, state-by-state.
Pornhub has announced that it will no longer offer its “services” to residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Following in the footsteps of Louisiana, Utah, Mississippi, and Arkansas, Virginia passed a law mandating age verification for people who want to access adult websites. The law goes into effect tomorrow, July 1, 2023. This is not good news for companies like Pornhub. TV station WRIC in Virginia had the statement from Pornhub’s parent company, MindGeek:
The safety of our users is one of our biggest concerns. We believe that the best and most effective solution for protecting children and adults alike is to identify users by their device and allow access to age-restricted materials and websites based on that identification. Until a real solution is offered, we have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in Virginia. [sic]
According to the station, the company also had a message that appeared when Virginia users tried to access the site.
Dear user,
As you may know, your elected officials in Virginia are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website. While safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users, and in fact, will put children and your privacy at risk.
In addition, mandating age verification without proper enforcement gives platforms the opportunity to choose whether or not to comply. As we’ve seen in other states, this just drives traffic to sites with far fewer safety measures in place. Very few sites are able to compare to the robust Trust and Safety measures we currently have in place. To protect children and user privacy, any legislation must be enforced against all platforms offering adult content.
Trust and safety? Tell that to the women highlighted by The Washington Post and other outlets who sued the company over allegations that Pornhub was “a ‘classic criminal enterprise’ that profits from content showing rape, child pornography, sex trafficking, and other nonconsensual activity.” Tell that to anyone who had to endure having their most intimate moments or barbaric abuse at the hands of another displayed across a massive platform. Tell that to anyone who has lost a loved one to porn through trafficking, deception, willing participation, or through using it.
Recently I wrote about a lawsuit by the Free Speech Coalition against the State of Utah over a similar law in the Beehive State. The Free Speech Coalition also represents Pornhub; however, the group has not decided if it will file a suit in Virginia. WRIC reports that back in March, Alison Boden, who is the coalition’s executive director, sent a letter to Gov. Glenn Youngkin urging him to veto the original bill. The letter said in part, “Adult content — even material harmful to minors — is First Amendment-protected speech and the Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that restrictions on its production and consumption face the highest legal bar: strict scrutiny.”
MindGeek doesn’t care about free speech. Porn is big money, and MindGeek and its associates want as much of that money as they can get, no matter what the human damage may be.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy PJ Media’s conservative reporting taking on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth. Join PJ Media VIP and use the promo code SAVEAMERICA to get 50% off your VIP membership!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member