Moral Panic About Rough Sex Gives Way to Censorship in the UK
British regulators and lawmakers are hot on a measure that would make possessing or publishing strangulation porn a crime.
'Genes Matter,' Says Scientist Studying Social Media and Mental Health
The study found only small links between social media use and users' well-being.
What Mamdani's Win Means for Sex
While it wasn't a part of his campaign, Mamdani has been a vocal supporter of sex work decriminalization.
Oklahoma's Obscenity Bait and Switch Could Ban Pride Parades and Public Drag Shows
These lawmakers expect local authorities to ban "obscenity" before it happens—a recipe for chilling a wide variety of legal speech.
Man Accused of Soliciting Teen Girl Walks Because of Federal Overreach
The DOJ tried to claim jurisdiction because he drove on a road.
Congress Investigates TeaOnHer App for Letting Men Post About Women Without Their Consent
It sounds like something niche feminist bloggers might have taken up 10 years ago. But this is being led by Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives.
Pennsylvania Lawmakers Propose Titty Tax
Plus: It's not illegal to protest while dressed as a giant penis. DHS seeks OpenAI data. And more...
Fate of Flight Attendant Who Accused Army Vet of Trafficking His Daughter Is Now With Virginia's Supreme Court
The teen began to cry when the plane hit turbulence. He comforted his daughter—and aroused the suspicions of flight attendant Cheryl Thomas.
California Wants To Punish Social Platforms for Aiding and Abetting the First Amendment
Another entry into the "algorithms are magic" school of imposing liability on tech companies.
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.
Can We Please Stop Romanticizing Pre-Smartphone Life?
A lot of anti-tech—or anti-Gen Z—screeds only work by romanticizing the past while pathologizing the present and projecting damage on strangers.
First the U.K., Next the U.S.? Britain's Digital ID Plan Should Scare Americans.
Once created, a digital ID system will prove catnip to politicians who want to track where we go, online and off.
Google Says Biden Admin Pressured Company To Remove Content
Plus: ICE helps arrest sex workers, the SIM farm "security threat," Waymo car crashes caused by human error, and more...
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.
TikTok Isolationism
Plus: New Yorkers favor decriminalizing prostitution. An academic inquiry into "body counts." AI chatbots everywhere. And more...
Social Media Didn't Kill Charlie Kirk
Plus: Trump says he "may let [TikTok] die," the SoHo Forum debates paying for sex, the administration calls birth control "abortifacients," and more...
Pirate Porn Study Finds No Difference in Sexual Attitudes After Seeing X-Rated Video
Plus: Indiana's abortion speech ban in court, AI as normal technology, getting carried away by Epstein conspiracies, and more.
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...
Sex Ed Classes Can't Teach 'Gender Ideology' If States Want Federal Funds
Plus: Court refuses to break up Google, Epstein victims speak at the Khanna/Massie press conference, a shift in young men's views on porn
Smartphone Study Authors Say Phones Should Be Regulated Like Alcohol and Tobacco
Parental responsibility? What parental responsibility?
Bluesky Blocks Mississippi Users
Age verification laws are already coming for Americans’ access to free speech.
Is Conscientiousness Cratering? It Depends on How You Twist the Data.
Despite those viral charts you may have seen, conscientiousness among young people doesn't actually seem to be in "freefall."
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.
Hotel Sex Trafficking Suit Can Proceed, Inviting Hotels to Profile and Harass Guests
Can a hotel be guilty of sex trafficking just because it didn't surveil its customers enough?
10 Examples of Absurd Fallout From the U.K.'s Online Safety Act
The measure is putting up roadblocks for people who want to read about world news, listen to music on Spotify, chat on Discord, play video games, find information about quitting smoking, or join antimasturbation groups.
Alabama's Porn Tax Starts Soon
Websites are being told to create "Material Harmful to Minors tax accounts."
'Subway Surfing' Death Suit Against TikTok, Meta Further Chips Away at Section 230
Norma Nazario blames her son's death on social media algorithms.
MAGA's Epstein Files Fight Shows the Long Tail of QAnon
Like sex trafficking panic more broadly, the Epstein files are a useful political tool—as long as they remain hidden.
Missouri Harasses AI Companies Over Chatbots Dissing Glorious Leader Trump
AI chatbots failed to "rank the last five presidents from best to worst, specifically regarding antisemitism," in a way that Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey likes.
Warning: These Social Media Rules Will Erode Civil Liberties
Plus: Pittsburgh lowers prostitution penalty, FSC v. Paxton, the Diddy verdict, and more…
A Second Sexual Revolution?
Talking with Carter Sherman about hookup culture, the sex recession, and her new book.
Abortion Rates Keep Rising After Dobbs
Strict abortion bans do not seem to be seriously stopping abortions.
Federal Prosecutors Are Starting To Sound Like Campus Activists About Sex and Consent
With the OneTaste case, the Department of Justice has embraced infantilizing ideas about women, consent, and coercion.
FTC Pivots From Competition to Children
The result is the same: attacks on tech companies and attempts to violate Americans' rights.
A First Amendment Right To Preach Orgasm?
As the prosecution rests in the OneTaste case, the defense lays out the free speech implications if the government succeeds.
How Palantir Is Expanding the Surveillance State
If you think the government will only use these tools to track illegal immigrants, think again.
Is Buying OnlyFans Content Now Illegal in Sweden?
Swedish authorities voted to criminalize the purchase or procurement of online sex acts, in a move targeting customers of webcam platforms and sites like OnlyFans.
ICE Helps Round Up Sex Workers in Florida
In Operation Fool Around and Find Out, 244 "human trafficking" arrests, but no human trafficking.
Men Caught In Prostitution Sting Aren't Sex Traffickers, Massachusetts High Court Says
But the ruling suggests prostitution clients could be convicted of sex trafficking in other circumstances.
At 'Orgasmic Meditation' Trial, Feds Can't Find a Clitoris—or Evidence of Forced Labor
The government has been putting sexuality, sexual labor, and unorthodox ideas about sex on trial.
Republicans Want To Redefine Obscenity
A new bill would ban sharing visual content that might "arouse" or "titillate."
California Sex Trafficking Fight Erupts Over Punishment for Soliciting Minors
Democrats did the right thing, got attacked for it, then caved.
The Bad Data Backing Josh Hawley's Attack on Abortion Pills
A new study being used to call for mifepristone restrictions relies on vague and dubious definitions of drug-related complications.
