Porn sites being required to identify users

General Discussion
#1

Something I haven’t seen yet on this forum…
Some states have created very strict rules for age verification
on porn sites, or other adults-only sites.
This morning I logged onto Pornhub for the first time in a long
time, and found a message that before I could the site I had to
go through a bunch of gobbledegook to prove I was over 18.

In some cases these states/sites are requiring drivers license
or other state-issued IDs scanned into the site at least once.
Pornhub thinks that’s ridiculous to have to do every time, so
they are using your machine identification as proof that you
are over 18, once your ID is scanned in.

This is a privacy nightmare. They have a state-issued ID
AND the computer you use to access these sites, and if
you’re not using a VPN or other privacy software, they know
who you are, where to find you, and whether or not you are
looking at the right kind of porn or are looking at something
they think you shouldn’t be.

They’ll say that it’s for the protection of the children… but
we all know kids can get by all that stuff you think they can’t.

As for me, since I’m not going to give them my information,
I’ll go elsewhere for what I’m looking for. I went over to the
XHamster site, and they let me on.

[Note: what I was looking for was old stag films from about
1900 onward. There is no complete checklist or repository
for these films, which were until 1970 or so completely illegal]

[Oops! Almost forgot this]

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#2

I’ve known about the following for a few years now, and
it’s been mentioned on Brian Sovryn’s podcasts a few
times.
The increased requirements placed on internet porn
have made NH an even more ideal location for porn
production. It’s one more liberty that could draw liberty
lovers to NH.

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#3

This is from the screen I originally got telling me that
Pornhub was requiring ID now.

https://www.pornhub.com/

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.

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.

Please contact your representatives before it is too late and demand device-based verification solutions that make the internet safer while also respecting your privacy.

Model or Content Partner access

Pornhub is rated with RTA label. Parents, you can easily block access to this site. Please read this page for more information.

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#4

These laws are flagrantly unconstitutional as they violate the free speech rights of adults. We already went through these child protection laws a half dozen times in the 1990s. The US Supreme Court ruled repeatedly that these sorts of laws are unconstitutional as they violate the rights of adults to access content unimpeded. Basically it’s up to mom, dad, and government schools to restrict access to such content. Some of you may even remember that porn sites in the late 1990s had “passwords” that you would purchase with a credit card to prove your age and then you’d get access to all sorts of different adult sites via a shared password. Humorously those passwords would then be shared around the internet. The system obviously doesn’t work for so many reasons including the obvious- other countries don’t have such laws and so much porn was just hosted overseas. The other obvious problem is that nothing stops a kid from grabbing a parents ID nor using a prepaid card or even there own debit or credit card. Neither ID nor credit cards actually work to stop young people from getting access to porn. Not to mention kids had access to porn BEFORE the internet. I remember a playboy (hmm or something of that nature) being passed around when I was in ELEMENTARY school entering middle school ~11 around 1994-1995. Technically the internet existed, but clearly wasn’t widespread yet.

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#5

I got onto the internet I returned from military
service in January 1976. By that time porn
was everywhere on the net. Porn had finally
been legalized in the early 1970s, and there
was no exception for child porn, which was
singled out around the early 1980s. It was
all available.

#6

I don’t think unfettered access to internet porn is a desirable way to promote liberty.

#7

It beats fettered access or no access at all.