Obscenity is a national scourge and is not protected by the First Amendment. But few do anything about its proliferation, including to children.
Until now. A new law has just gone into effect in Louisiana that will require people accessing porn on the internet to prove they are of age. From the Vice.com story:
A new law makes porn sites liable for content deemed “harmful to minors” if it doesn’t install age verification technology for anyone accessing them in Louisiana—and it’s already affecting how people in the state access Pornhub.
The law defines content that is “harmful to minors:”
Material that’s harmful to minors, according to the act, is defined as appealing to prurient interests, and that consists of “pubic hair, anus, vulva, genitals, or nipple of the female breast; Touching, caressing, or fondling of nipples, breasts, buttocks, anuses, or genitals; Sexual intercourse, masturbation, sodomy, bestiality, oral copulation; flagellation, excretory functions, exhibitions, or any other sexual act,” and lacks “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value” for someone under 18 years of age.
This is good. Children need to be protected from obscenity. More states should pass such laws.
Meanwhile, Senator Mike Lee (R., Utah) plans to introduce the “Interstate Obscenity Definition Act” that would define obscenity nationally to allow better control over this culturally destructive industry. I don’t know if a pushback against porn can work in this day and age, but it is worth trying.
For more information on the terrible harm inflicted by porn, see my podcast interview with Donna Rice Hughes.