Pornography
Whoops—Ohio Accidentally Excludes Most Major Porn Platforms From Anti-Porn Law
Ohio lawmakers set out to block minors from viewing online porn. They messed up.
Michigan Anti-Porn Bill Would Criminalize ASMR, Written Erotica, and Even Nonsexual Depictions of Trans People
Under the law, transgender people writing about their gender identity online could face 20 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
The Federal Trade Commission Goes After Pornhub
Plus: Nepal bans social media platforms and kills protesters, MAGA's war on the tech industry intensifies, and more...
More Age Verification Fallout: Artist Blogs Blocked, Porn Data Leaked, Traffic Boosts for Noncompliant Sites
Unintended—but entirely predictable—consequences abound!
Bluesky Blocks Mississippi Users
Age verification laws are already coming for Americans’ access to free speech.
CBP Is Deporting Cruise Ship Crew Over Child Pornography Allegations Without Evidence
Advocacy groups say more than 100 cruise ship crew members have been deported in recent months, and they're not being shown the evidence against them or given any due process.
The Anti-Porn Crusade Comes for Online Games
Activists pressure payment processors, who in turn pressure game marketplaces. The result? A whole lot of video games and visual novels are disappearing.
Alabama's Porn Tax Starts Soon
Websites are being told to create "Material Harmful to Minors tax accounts."
Legislation Will Not Protect Kids Online
New laws aimed at protecting kids online won’t work, and could even make things worse. Parents, not politicians, are the best defense against digital dangers.
FTC Pivots From Competition to Children
The result is the same: attacks on tech companies and attempts to violate Americans' rights.
Republicans Want To Redefine Obscenity
A new bill would ban sharing visual content that might "arouse" or "titillate."
The TAKE IT DOWN Act's Good Intentions Don't Make Up for Its Bad Policy
Congress just approved a new online censorship scheme under the auspices of thwarting revenge porn and AI-generated "nonconsensual intimate visual depictions."
Are We Still Living in 1999?
A new book argues that late-20th-century lowbrow culture created the modern world.
Study: Age-Verification Laws Don't Work
At least not if the goal is keeping minors from viewing porn.
Texas Cops Seized Photographs From a Museum and Launched Child Pornography Investigation
"It's shameful that government officials would use the criminal legal process to censor art and expression."
The Document That Explains Why Nationalists Keep Trying To Ban Porn
Do lawmakers believe they should be trying to make more Christians?
How Antitrust Crusaders Brought a Porn App to iPhones
The E.U.'s Digital Markets Act is making it easier for iPhone users to watch porn.
Age Verification Laws Meet VPNs and Lawsuits in a War Over Speech and Privacy
A new crop of restrictive laws faces a friendly reception in the courts but ongoing public resistance.
The Future of Online Porn Is At Stake Today
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in a Texas case that could have major ramifications across the country—including, perhaps, the end of anonymity online.
Stop Overprotecting the Children, Say Courts in Tennessee and California
Courts block laws regulating algorithms and online porn.
Montana's Porn Age Verification Law Is Headed to Court
"Invoking the innocence of children is not...a magic incantation sufficient for legislatures to run roughshod over the First Amendment rights of adults."
Get Your Gross Sex Out of My Sick Politics!
Plus: "Black Nazi,” Oprah interviews Kamala, and yet another looming government shutdown.
'Yeah, I'm a "Perv" Too!'
Plus: Republicans seem likely to blow another winnable race, New York City's COVID czar attended pandemic raves, and more...
A Day Care Worker Who Says She Was Documenting Diaper Rashes Got 126 Years for Taking 8 Photos
The Maryland Supreme Court deemed the evidence sufficient to convict the defendant on sexual abuse and child pornography charges.
Age Check Laws Are a 'Back Door' to Banning Porn, Project 2025 Architect Says in Hidden Camera Video
"We'd have a national ban on pornography if we could, right?"
Judges Block Indiana and Mississippi Age Verification Laws for Porn, Social Media
And the Supreme Court agrees to weigh in.
The Stop Comstock Act Doesn't Go Far Enough
Upcoming legislation would repeal parts of the 1873 law that could be used to target abortion, but the Comstock Act's reach is much more broad than that.
Judge Tosses Biometric Data Suit Against X
X's child porn detection system doesn’t violate an Illinois biometric privacy law, the judge ruled.
The Best of Reason: The Future of Porn Is Consensual Deepfakes
OnlyFans lets women distribute their own porn. Artificial intelligence will give them even more control.
OpenAI Is Open To AI-Generated Erotica…but Not 'Porn'
The company's confusing statements about how ChatGPT should respond to sexual prompts
The Future of Porn Is Consensual Deepfakes
OnlyFans let women distribute their own porn. Artificial intelligence will give them even more control.
Supreme Court Won't Stop Texas Porn Law From Taking Effect
"We will continue to fight for the right to access the internet without intrusive government oversight," says the group challenging the law.
These States Want You To Show ID To Watch Porn Online
At least eight states have already enacted age-verification laws, and several more are considering bills.
Adult Entertainment Group Asks Supreme Court To Block Texas Age-Verification Law
"Profound irreparable harm flows from the Act's chilling of adults' access to protected sexual expression," the filing reads.
States Keep Passing Unconstitutional Age-Verification Laws for Porn Sites
Kentucky's governor signed a law last week that could require porn sites to ask for users' government IDs before allowing access to adult material.
No Pseudonymity for Porn Copyright Infringement Defendants, Says One Judge
The cases on the subject are sharply split, reflecting how ill-defined the law of pseudonymous litigation is.
Defending Pornography in the Age of Safe Spaces: A Q&A With Nadine Strossen
The civil liberties lawyer talks to Reason about the misguided impulse to attack free speech in the name of protecting women.
Defending Pornography on Feminist Grounds: A Q&A With Nadine Strossen
"There were many of us who opposed censoring pornography...precisely because of our commitment to feminist goals and principles," says the former ACLU chief.
Pornhub Pulls Out of Seventh State
The company leaves Texas over an “ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous” age-verification law.
Texas Sues Pornhub for Failing to Check IDs
A federal judge in an ongoing case called the porn age-check scheme unconstitutional. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton doesn't seem to care.
PROTECT Act Could Require Removal of All Existing Porn Online
Sen. Mike Lee's "technological exploitation" bill also redefines consent.
Nanny State Social Media Mandates Are No Substitute for Effective Parenting
Throughout Republican-run Western states, lawmakers are passing legislation that treats adults as if they are children.
A Constitutionally Dubious California Bill Would Ban Possession of AI-Generated Child Pornography
The proposal seems to conflict with a Supreme Court ruling against laws that criminalize mere possession of obscene material.
