Moral Panic
New York Legislators Unveil Legislation Banning Tide Pods
The next stage of the safety hysteria cycle
The Best Sex Work Writing of 2017
We rounded up the year's best writing, reporting, and research on erotic industries, those who work in them, and how they're getting screwed by U.S. authorities and laws.
The Year in Teen Sexting Panic
From cops to Congress, overreactions to teen sexting have reached new heights in 2017.
Feds Keeping Homeland Secure with Fake Sex-Trafficking Busts
As America deals with terrorist attacks and mass shootings, DHS and the FBI are busy enforcing misdemeanor vice laws.
Halloween (and Everything Else) Is Too Scary for the Fragile Generation
Bad policy and paranoid parenting are making kids too safe to succeed.
Feds 'Rescue' Women from Freedom and Money in 11th 'Operation Cross Country'
Hear from the real victims of this cruel FBI charade.
Ohio Republicans Move to Ban Sexting Between Teens
The bill is being pitched as a way to help teens avoid harsh child-porn laws.
Move Over, Millennial 'Narcissists,' There's a New Generation for the Olds to Get Wrong
Techno-panic finds a new target in Jean Twenge's "Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?"
No, the Solar Eclipse Will Not Cause a Spike in Sex Trafficking
Like all things 2017, an old urban legend takes an even more ridiculous turn.
Lawmakers Demand Sessions Investigate Backpage's 'Criminal Role in Sex Trafficking' in Wake of Misleading Washington Post Article
Post says Backpage hired a contractor that catfished on foreign competitors' sites.
Want to Look at Online Porn? The U.K. Gov't Wants to Strip You of Your Privacy
You must submit your credit card number-for the safety of the children!
Airport Scrutiny to Get Worse as House Moves to Mandate Sex-Trafficking Training
FAA reauthorization bill would require airline ticket-counter and gate agents to be trained on reporting "potential human trafficking victims."
Democrats Accuse Republicans of Mass Murder
The argument carries a powerful emotional charge but it isn't a particularly constructive or clear-minded way to think or talk about writing laws.
Cops Have Lost Control of Their Sex-Trafficking Panic, and It's Beautiful
Even the police can't control human-trafficking hysteria anymore, and it could backfire for them.
Jeff Sessions Says Social Media, Encrypted Apps Hamper War on 'Modern Slavery'
These are the tools of pornographers, "sextortionists," and human traffickers, Sessions told a police conference this week.
'Operation Big Bad John' Used 75 Cops, Six Federal Agencies to Catch 13 Sex Buyers
Naturally, they're portraying it as a success.
Why Is Everyone So Willing to Believe 'Fake News' About Sex Trafficking?
"It's like we lack enough empathy to understand the choices of others, and therefore deprive them of agency."
Zara Pulls Not-Pepe Dress After People Complain That All Frogs Are Now Hate Symbols
Good job, internet liberals, you got huge clothing conglomerate to stop selling one of its few works benefiting indie creators!
Drupal Developer Larry Garfield Ostracized Over Involvement in Sci-Fi Based Kink Community
The scandal has exposed odd taboos in the liberal-leaning Drupal community and how hypocritical their talk of tolerance can be.
The Great Beavis and Butt-Head Panic of '93
Friday A/V Club: The McLaughlin Group vs. MTV
The Hypocritical Logic Behind Republican Plans to Ban Online Porn (Unless You Pay $20)
State lawmakers say porn is a public health crisis that causes rape and sex trafficking-but watch all you want as long as the state gets a cut.
Proposed Tweak to Internet Law Could Spur Seismic Shifts in Web as We Know It
A bill related to sex trafficking and Section 230 could have far-reaching consequences for web content, publishers, and apps.
Enough Stranger Danger! Children Rarely Abducted by Those They Don't Know
U.S. kids are no more likely to be abducted today than they were decades ago, and much more likely to be returned safely when they are.
Sad Legislation or SADDEST Legislation?: The Protecting Kids from Candy-Flavored Drugs Act of 2017
Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Grassley create instant cult classic with idiotic new bill.
Moral Outrage Is Self-Serving, Say Psychologists
Perpetually raging about the world's injustices? You're probably overcompensating.
Trump's Mythical Crackdown on Sex Trafficking
No, there haven't been an "unprecedented" number of child sex-trafficking rings busted since Donald Trump took office.
Refugee Rape Mobs on New Year's Eve Were a Hoax, Say German Police
Reports of mass New Year's Eve sexual-assaults by refugees in Frankfurt, Germany, are "completely baseless."
No Super Bowl Sex-Trafficking Hordes in Houston
Where were all the Super Bowl 2017 sex-traffickers? Living only in activist and law-enforcement imaginations, it seems.
Backpage Backed Into Corner Over Adult Ads. Is Government's Goal a Goodbye to Sex Trafficking, or Free Speech?
As Congress puts Backpage on trial, Section 230 is the big fish in this barrel of red herrings.
Pot, Video Games, Whatever. Teens Must Be Addicted to Something, Says Expert.
How to turn good news about today's youths into a demand for more government studies.
Sherri Papini Sex-Trafficking Evidence Almost as Flimsy as PizzaGate Proof
While the particulars of Pizzagate are especially outlandish, it's not a narrative that sprung up in an alt-right vacuum. Just look at the coverage of Sherri Papini's case.
61-Year-Old Ban on Pinball in Indiana City Set to be Repealed
In 1955, pinball machines were considered "against peace and good order, encourage vice and immorality and constitute a nuisance."
4 Incredibly Dumb Ways the Government Is Spending Your Money to Punish People for Having Sex
And making a mess of civil liberties and people's lives in the process
Operation Cross Country X: Everything You Need to Know About the FBI's Annual 'Underage Human Trafficking' Sting In One Chart
Sex workers and their customers made up 72 percent of arrests in this "underage human trafficking" operation. Human traffickers? One percent.
Clown Madness: Cops, Schools, and Media on Edge
A cop suggests putting "a cap in the first clown you see," a reporter asks if police "should keep track of sales of clown costumes," and more.
Friday A/V Club: A Short History of Phantom Clowns
This isn't our first freakout about imaginary Bozos.
Cop Issues Warning: 'If You Run Around in a Clown Suit, You Should Probably Expect for Citizens to Beat You'
Professional clowns fear profiling, vigilantes.
The Clown Panic Comes to College
Auburn University has issued a public-safety bulletin about the clown menace. Read it here.
Courage House Claimed to Save Sex-Trafficked Girls. Instead, It Used Them As Funding Bait While Playing Evangelical Christian Missionary
Courage House received about $9,100 in government support per month per girl it took in.
Pamela Anderson Warns That 'The Crack Babies of Porn' Are Nigh
In the Wall Street Journal, the ex-Playboy model blames online-porn for Anthony Weiner's texting troubles & kids propelled "warp-speed into the dark side."
