Pornhub disables website in Texas after AG sues for not verifying users’ ages

Pornhub has disabled its site in Texas to object to a state law that requires the company to verify the age of users to prevent minors from accessing the site.

Texas residents who visit the site are met with a message from the company that criticizes the state’s elected officials who are requiring them to track the age of users.

The company said the newly passed law impinges on “the rights of adults to access protected speech” and fails to pass strict scrutiny by “employing the least effective and yet also most restrictive means of accomplishing Texas’s stated purpose of allegedly protecting minors.”

TetraVega, (edited )

Probably pushed by Big VPN so they can sell more

ZugZug,

If only there was some other place to get porn.

Syn_Attck, (edited )

Yeah but this is Texas. One of the largest consumers of porn by state. Pornhub is the 6th most visited site in the US, just one spot behind Amazon. I’m sure at least some Texas politicians have decades old accounts accounts with all their favorites videos and probably paid access to creators, etc. Sure they won’t be giving up their account username and telling everyone why they’re doing it, but this gives them an excuse to call out the bullshit overreach and taking of frozen peaches. They can lie and say their constituents are the ones calling and demanding action. Actually a pretty smart move by Pornhub.

Lucidlethargy,

Texas loves to use words like “freedom” and “liberty”, and make them synonomus with their values. Then they pass legislation to force women to give birth, and they ban porn.

Like… “y’all” really are fucking stupid down there (at least the conservatives.)

mycathas9lives,
@mycathas9lives@mastodon.social avatar

@Lucidlethargy @MicroWave

I refuse to drive through Texas and I do not do layovers in Texas on the grounds that their supreme court supports road side cavity searches by law enforcement. Nothing Texas for me.

some_guy,

There was an article rating actual freedom in different states and they came in dead last.

FlavoredButtHair,
@FlavoredButtHair@lemmy.world avatar

That’s why they say “Don’t make fun of Texas, it’s not nice to pick on retards.”

Otkaz,

In other news, VPN sales in Texas skyrocket.

apocalypticat,
@apocalypticat@lemmy.world avatar

Imaging knowing how to VPN, but not knowing how to vote to keep your rights.

Olgratin_Magmatoe,

I’m sure there are a lot of people who know how to use a VPN, but their votes against this nonsense get drowned out because it is a red state.

All states are basically red states with islands of blue cities.

RippleEffect,

Maybe compared to previous usage, but I doubt that most of the population will use a VPN for that.

drmeanfeel,

The party of “small government” strikes again

Semi_Hemi_Demigod,
@Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world avatar

They want the government to be small so it can fit in your pants.

sarchar,

Classic Atlas shrugging moment.

fmstrat,

The meme: Oh noooo Texas. So I started VPNing…

cosmicrookie,
@cosmicrookie@lemmy.world avatar

My guess is rape rate will increase instead

slate.com/…/proof-that-internet-porn-prevents-rap…

Makhno,

If porn is the only thing stopping someone from raping another person, then their problems are a whole lot deeper than porn

cosmicrookie,
@cosmicrookie@lemmy.world avatar

Indeed!

MonkeMischief,

Thank you. This had to be said. Our culture is gravely ill…

Syn_Attck,

Our… culture?

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_cleansing_myth

…wikipedia.org/…/Category:War_crimes_committed_by…

MonkeMischief,

I meant in the way that members of a society interact with each other and how negative and antisocial qualities are reaching mainstream promotion because it’s profitable, but amusing way to pare down 100% of human history into two of the bleakest articles on Wikipedia I guess lol.

Yes people can be awful. Chances are higher than zero that terrible traditions have been a thing in history. Nobody is surprised.

homura1650,

So? If porn is the only thing that stopped me from getting raped, then my problem is solved. I’d call that a win.

Hadriscus,

The perspective we need

Draedron,

Yes. But not the problems of the victim.

afraid_of_zombies,

While true it still is stopping them. I don’t really care that much of a person is intrinsically a good person or not I care what their action’s are.

Question: what do you call someone capable of the act of rape that has never raped anyone? Answer: normal.

Syn_Attck, (edited )

Well said. In a world without stop signs, traffic lights, laws and judges, the people who think they’re the most wholesome may otherwise be the most vicious perpetrators.

We like to think being a good person is an innate thing. Truth is, hatred, jealousy, lust, anger, murder, rape, violence - they’re all human nature. Every single person reading this comment is capable of murder if the set of circumstances required it. Societal conditioning (including education), the environment you’re raised in, social punishments, the threat of lack of freedom, and learned introspection are the factors preventing people from doing these things.

If you’re the nicest person someone has met, then you lucked out, but it has very little to do with your ‘true nature.’ One caveat: some people seem to be born with a predisposition towards violence. Not many are born with a predisposition to anti-violence. Anti-violence is as innate in humans as the English language. Nobody’s born with it, but if you’re raised with it then you do it mostly subconsciously. If anti-violence was a common function of human DNA then we’d all have been eaten by lions. Just to illustrate it further, even plants innately use violence (poisons) as an anti-predation mechanism, although they (probably) aren’t conscious.

I can’t count the number of times in AA and NA I heard stories about people not knowing it wasn’t ‘normal’ to get fucked up and beat their spouse until they were out of their parents house.

Bremmy,

Religion can sometimes prevent mass murderers, so you’re absolutely right

afraid_of_zombies,

Doubt.

Bremmy,

I’m full on anti-religion, but some crazies have said the fear of eternal damnation is the only reason they don’t go out murdering

afraid_of_zombies,

I have my doubts about how accurate their assessment is. I said things like that when I was a theist and turns out I am still pretty boring even without the fear of hell. However, on the off chance I am wrong and quite literally the only thing keeping someone from being a murderer is the fear of hell well they should probably still believe in hell.

This is what the narcissist does to you. They convince you that you are nothing and even less than nothing without them. Religion teaches people that they are worthless and can only be saved from their deserved fate by absolute obedience.

homura1650,

Interestingly, according to the article, the biggest effect is in 15-19 year olds; which are the people the law is intended to bar from accessing porn. Granted, I have no idea how good the underlying study that article is based off of is.

skozzii,

The ones that most definetely know how to use a vpn…

It’s gonna be the boomer politicians that are big mad and can’t figure out a work around.

aidan,

The ones that most definetely know how to use a vpn…

There are plenty of 15-19 year olds who are good with computers, but also plenty who aren’t

Jakeroxs,

The goal post for what “being good at computers” has moved quite a bit, stuff that was distinctly only known to the nerds and geeks is now common knowledge to the younger generations, just from what I’ve seen of my younger relatives compared to my geekyness growing up lol.

aidan,

What types of stuff do you mean?

Jakeroxs,

VPNs was a good one, I have definitely heard from my younger siblings/cousins they’re familiar or use them at school.

I remember being a select few at my school who knew how to use proxies to get to game sites on school PCS, I even made a little free hosted website for linking to proxies/unblocked game sites for my friends. (that eventually got blocked too, funny enough certain link shortners still worked for a bit since they seemingly blocked by Url)

I’ll try to think of other examples, just something I had noticed talking to younger family members.

I think it’s moreso just that it’s easier to do then it used to be.

Jakeroxs, (edited )

Deleted

Huschke,

Doed the article not link to the study?

cosmicrookie,
@cosmicrookie@lemmy.world avatar

I believe its this

semanticscholar.org/…/602ddbdd604afe9cbd31c97f01d…

wandrey,

There isn’t just pornhub in Texas!

Daxtron2,

Aylo owns the following brands: Brazzers Pornhub RedTube YouPorn Xtube Digital Playground Men.com Mofos Nutaku Reality Kings Sean Cody Twistys WhyNotBi.com

fne8w2ah,

Showing once again the disconnect between lawmakers and the public they are meant to serve.

werefreeatlast,

Hey Texas dudes! Jesus make u mad? Christ took your Christina? No problem!

From the makers of the famous amous Chinese finger trap, here come the Cocklopper2000!

Just place the mildly used or completely unused cock into the cock hole and press the button 🔘!

No more useless cock hanging out like extra skin to toast in the hot Texan sun! The aerodynamics are fantastic!

The Cocklopper2000 comes in with different levels of blade sharpness and motor speeds! From the gentle lop and clop of the brushed 1/2hp DC motor and stainless 304 blades to the neodymium 0 cog out runner brushless motor of the XL model with upgraded boron carbide blades. While the lower cost model is gentle enough to only need mild sedation, the XL model does it so quick and painless you’d swear it’s still attached!

All models come with 1 year paid google drive with 3 email addresses! And free disposal cooler box with free postage paid for automatic shipping to the cock store! Your only only source of cocks! Your donation goes directly to benefit trans woman and transgender female to male persons!

nutsack,

thank you

werefreeatlast,

The the reviews… review is in! No other cock remover has inspired such words before! The Cockloper2000! The best cock remover in town! YeeeeeHaaaaa!

nutsack,

please come to my house

AlligatorBlizzard,

FTMs are trans men.

Also what did I just read???

Tja,

Wat

Podunk,

Texan here. Porn’s busted. Brb gotta go watch dune 2 with popcorn now.

TheBat,
@TheBat@lemmy.world avatar

Use VPN.

The cum must flow

Starkstruck,

At least this’ll probably push more people to hate Republicans. Like, fucking with a man’s porn supply is just political suicide. At least I hope it is.

geekworking,

Don’t worry they’ll find a way to blame Biden.

Anything is possible when logic, facts, and reality don’t matter.

madcaesar,

Maybe… I would have thought treating women like chattel would do it… But apparently not.

Hadriscus,

cattle ? or is chattel a thing ? not american speaker

iknowitwheniseeit,

Chattel is a specific type of slavery:

In chattel slavery, the slave is legally rendered the personal property (chattel) of the slave owner.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery

Zahille7,

I’m almost afraid to ask, but what other forms of slavery are there that means you aren’t the property of a slave owner?

iknowitwheniseeit,

Slaves can also be owned by the state, rather than individuals. Weirdly some empires had slave armies, for example. In other cases slaves have significant rights, including their own property; Roman slaves could save money and buy their own freedom (although many slaves were worked to death in mines, or used for sex, so it was definitely still shit). In some cultures children of slaves were free (technically, although still starting from a terrible position). There was also indentured servitude, where you agreed to be a slave for a limited time period - a lot of people came to the Americas for free, but were slaves for a few years in exchange (before Europeans started buying chattel slaves from Africa, which gave better return on their investment, as long as you didn’t mind being evil).

Asafum,

They should have also added a bit about big government intrusion into their personal privacy rights. They have to speak the conservative language to conservatives to really get them riled up.

FlyingSquid,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Texans will have to get their porn the old fashioned way now- finding an old magazine in the woods.

PrincessLeiasCat,

I’m a woman in Texas and if this has anything positive to come out of it, I hope a lot of the men here who don’t care about women’s reproductive rights will finally wake up to the Christian Nationalism really taking hold here, realize it may impact them, and help to do something about it.

HaywardT,

Something something strange bedfellows.

Veneroso,

Porn reduces the incident of rape. Combine that with the inability to access abortion. This is going to get worse. If vulnerable people have the ability to leave, they should.

SturgiesYrFase,
@SturgiesYrFase@lemmy.ml avatar

Unfortunately, vulnerable people tend not to have the ability to leave.

AdolfSchmitler,

Sooooo all according to plan then right?

RaoulDook,

This all sucks, but to be realistic it’s probably not going to change anything for anybody. Pornhub is not the only porn site, there are more options than any human being could ever make use of out there, and plenty of sites will not recognize the laws of TX.

What realistically will happen is the porn consumers will go “oh no Pornhub is down, I’ll have to go to another site” and within 5 minutes they’ll be masturbating with porn from an unblocked site. For all we know, they might even visit lemmynsfw communities, which all do not give a fuck about these laws.

Notorious_handholder,

You underestimate the lengths people will go, in order to watch that perfect/favorite video that is now blocked. It’s why the porn industry makes so much money in the first place

cosmicrookie,
@cosmicrookie@lemmy.world avatar

My guess is rape rate will increase instead

slate.com/…/proof-that-internet-porn-prevents-rap…

Makhno,

You keep commenting this, and yet your source doesn’t provide any evidence other than quotes…

cosmicrookie,
@cosmicrookie@lemmy.world avatar

I’m out at work but i believe its this

semanticscholar.org/…/602ddbdd604afe9cbd31c97f01d…

teejay,

I’m with you, but I can’t imagine any other outcome than an increasingly large group of sexually-frustrated men taking this out on women / men / animals around them. Particularly as other porn sites follow suit.

What’s worse, I imagine this is either by design or a very welcome byproduct. In other words, one step closer to y’all qaeda.

fmstrat,

I can. VPN subscriptions up 60%, no measurable change in society.

Paddzr,

The end goal is more babies. Unwanted, uneducated and poor babies. They’ll get there by any means possible.

bamboo,

All blocking porn in the states will do is push users to sites hosted in the EU/Russia/Brazil/etc. Probably with even fewer safety checks or regulations.

stoly,

You may overestimate how technical the average person is. Think of the sort that would never bother with Lemmy.

Serinus,

They’ll go farther for porn.

Tinidril,

I’m sure that a national firewall is next. These right wing freedom humpers are deeply envious of totalitarian regimes.

A_Very_Big_Fan,

Came here to say this too. All they’re doing is pushing the users of those sites to less reputable sites

I know how I was as a kid, and I sure as shit wouldn’t have stopped because my state said “no”

SuiXi3D,
@SuiXi3D@fedia.io avatar

As a Texan, I’ve been using a VPN for about a decade now, so this doesn’t affect me in the slightest.

EDIT: Please don’t take this to mean that I don’t believe this is, or should be, the norm. Our state government has overstepped its bounds many times over, and the quality of life in this state has done nothing but go downhill since the Repuglicunts came into power almost 30 years ago. I’ve done nothing but vote for anyone but the incumbent right-wing fascists since I was old enough to vote.

fustigation769curtain,

Spoken like a true texan.

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