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submitted 1 year ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

Pornhub goes dark in Arkansas after age verification law kicks in::Pornhub operator MindGeek has blocked all users in Arkansas from the site after the state’s new age verification law went into effect.

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[-] autotldr@lemmings.world 237 points 1 year ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Pornhub operator MindGeek has blocked all users in Arkansas from the site after the state’s new age verification law went into effect on Tuesday.

The Arkansas law, SB 66, doesn’t ban Pornhub from operating in the state, but it requires porn sites to verify that a user is 18 by confirming their age with identifying documents.

On Wednesday, Pornhub blocked all traffic from IP addresses based in Arkansas in protest, arguing that the law, which was intended to protect children, actually harms users.

“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,” MindGeek wrote in a message replacing the site’s front page for affected users.

Responding to this wave of bans, MindGeek has decided to block access to its sites from states where the laws have gone into effect.

So, instead of rolling out age verification systems, it says it decided to block access entirely, calling on users to contact their state representatives to oppose these laws.


I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[-] Godnroc@lemmy.world 91 points 1 year ago

Good bot! I didn't know I missed having a summary until now

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[-] GentlemanLoser@reddthat.com 204 points 1 year ago

Arkansas: your kids should be working in a mine, not wanking online

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[-] BrudderAaron@lemmy.world 124 points 1 year ago

Oh no. I'm in Arkansas.

Guess I'll turn on the VPN.

[-] ipha@lemmy.world 114 points 1 year ago

I’m in Arkansas

I'm sorry.

[-] psycho_driver@lemmy.world 51 points 1 year ago

I grew up there. The northern part of the state is honestly one of the prettiest parts of our country. It is also filled with some of the most vile people. Vile people from everywhere else go there to retire and add to the smegma pot.

[-] InvertedParallax@lemm.ee 34 points 1 year ago

You just described basically the whole south.

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[-] instamat@lemmy.world 27 points 1 year ago

Oh no. I'm in Arkansas.

That’s putting it mildly

[-] Bearigator@ttrpg.network 26 points 1 year ago

I recommend using Tor browser as an alternate option. For anybody who can't use a VPN or doesn't want to.

[-] crunchpaste@lemmy.dbzer0.com 50 points 1 year ago

I'm not sure if streaming 1080p video over Tor would be very appreciated by the rest of the network. Or that it would be a very pleasant experience.

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[-] GiddyGap@lemmy.world 116 points 1 year ago

The party of small government.

[-] Iron_Lynx@lemmy.world 39 points 1 year ago

For a party that prides itself on being all about "small government" and "no nanny state," this is some surprisingly big government nanny state shenanigans

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[-] elxeno@lemm.ee 87 points 1 year ago

Didn't read the bill cause pdf and cause it's a bill, but found another article describing it, and it says at the end:

The bill also would apply to material that as a whole lacks serious "literary, artistic, political, and scientific value for minors."

Isn't that like 99% of the internet?

[-] key@lemmy.keychat.org 35 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Why are you against Pdf files?

Edit: Though reading my question out loud I get it...

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[-] gapbetweenus@feddit.de 72 points 1 year ago

Dang, if kids just had some kind of guardians that would be responsible for their media consumption while every media device out there had basic functionality to support such supervision.

[-] ParsnipWitch@feddit.de 33 points 1 year ago

It is completely unrealistic to control kids media consumption after a certain age without also infringing on their rights to privacy. Basically, you can't do it right as a parent. You are either helicopter parenting or you aren't controlling enough. It's funny how we shift blame entirely to parents on this while ignoring that it's an impossible task. And I am not even a parent.

[-] illumrial@lemmy.world 36 points 1 year ago

It's not hard to talk to your kids about porn or the existence of sex. Masturbation is ok and natural.

I think unhealthy sexual behavior comes from denying that masturbation and sex are perfectly normal and healthy activities. It's important as a parent to let your kids know about the potential risks (STDs, pregnancy, porn addiction) and to educate on consent. Give your kids a roadmap and advice, but don't blanket ban or shame and they should be healthy about sex.

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[-] cokane_88@lemmy.world 71 points 1 year ago

Things you aren't legally allowed to do in Arkansas: watch porn, have an abortion, read, write, or wipe your ass.

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[-] SloppyPuppy@lemmy.world 50 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I wanna see over the next year how rape and sexual harassment rates change.

[-] CapraObscura@lemmy.world 70 points 1 year ago

Oh man, if only we had statistics from countries where porn is banned, or some sort of scientific study from multiple countries where porn was banned and then unbanned to see what the change was...

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101130111326.htm

Spoiler: They'll probably go up slightly.

[-] Scrongle@lemmy.world 29 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Not sure what the spirit is behind this comment, but for all the cases that could be made in advocacy for porn, I don't think this should be one. If porn is the only thing keeping rape cases from drastically increasing, there is something much more broken in our society, and access to porn won't fix that.

Edit: Holy shit, guys. I thought poor reading comprehension and inflammatory dog-piling was something that wouldn't be so commonplace, after moving here from Reddit. Where did I say I support anything about what these pieces of legislation are enforcing? Every single response I've gotten so far has been arguing different points of discussion, of which my comment has nothing to do with. All I said was "GIVE THE RAPISTS THEIR PORN SO WE CAN BE SAFE!!!" isn't exactly a strong angle to approach the issue from. One user is even sharing a study that includes data showing that giving pedophiles access to child pornography reduces rates of sexual assault with children. Like, no shit, but is the lack of child pornography really the core issue at that point? Don't bother replying to me if you just want to put words in my mouth, and assume my stances on topics which I so far haven't shared.

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In other, unrelated news, VPN’s are experiencing an unexpected spike in traffic. More at 5.

[-] InvertedParallax@lemm.ee 42 points 1 year ago

I don't understand why they use pornhub, it's so much easier for them to get actual sex with their favorite dating app: 23andme.

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[-] Treczoks@lemmy.world 41 points 1 year ago

Well, that basically is an age check. People of Arkansas are obviously not old enough to deal with porn when they support a government that produces such stupid laws.

[-] BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world 34 points 1 year ago

Won't someone think of the horny Arkansans?

Seriously the Republicans are beyond the pale.

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[-] Snekeyes@lemmy.world 33 points 1 year ago

Freedum loving repubeicans inbound to other states?

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[-] atlem@lemmy.world 33 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Is this a scheme of VPN providers? Do they pay off politicians?

[-] RaoulDook@lemmy.world 29 points 1 year ago

There are still tons of porn sites that don't give a fuck about those state laws and don't comply. No VPN needed, just browse to an unblocked site.

They can't force compliance of foreign hosts anyway

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[-] Ab_intra@lemmy.world 33 points 1 year ago

I remember reading about this before. This is so stupid. Making people verify with offical documents.. People are going to get their documents stolen so much more now. Nice job Arkansas!

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[-] Clbull@lemmy.world 32 points 1 year ago

It's downright hypocritical that MindGeek has been outright supportive of the UK government's efforts to push age verification checks on porn and have even tried to lobby our country to implement AgeID as the solution.

But the moment US states start demanding that they verify user ages, they start geoblocking.

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[-] Glowstick@lemmy.world 29 points 1 year ago

Xhamster is now requiring personal identification for EVERYONE in the whole US, not just in Arkansas. WTF?!

[-] schrodingers_dinger@lemmy.world 41 points 1 year ago

Xhamster is probably the last site I would want my personal info related with too lmao

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[-] whome@discuss.tchncs.de 26 points 1 year ago

Verification should be a 2fa letter with the logo on the envelope.

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[-] cumcum69@lemmy.world 26 points 1 year ago

Pornhub's site was already pretty dark. Like it's mainly black

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this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2023
1148 points (100.0% liked)

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