Global War on Porn
French Regulator Initiates Action to Block 2 More Adult Tube Sites
Several weeks after targeting five leading adult tube sites, France’s media regulator ARCOM has initiated a new legal action, this time demanding that the country’s ISPs totally block MindGeek-owned sites YouPorn and RedTube over their alleged lack of enforcement of a controversial age verification mandate.
Influential Labour MP Asks UK Government to 'Proactively' Police Adult Content
As the U.K.’s Online Safety Bill navigates the committee stage in the House of Commons, the Labour MP who chairs the Home Affairs Committee is actively lobbying to make the government proactively police “whether adult entertainers have properly consented to appear in pornographic films” even if there are no reports suggesting they have not.
Cherie DeVille Pens Op-Ed on Germany's 'War on Porn'
The Daily Beast published an opinion piece by Cherie DeVille on Friday about the dangers of European legislation that could become “the first step toward kicking sex workers off the internet and banning porn entirely.”
Indian Police Begin Arresting People for Porn on Their Phones
Police in the western Indian state of Gujarat have launched a “digital combing” initiative, stopping people they consider “suspicious” in order to inspect their phones and ascertain whether they are committing the crime of “sharing and circulating pornographic material.”
UK's 'War on Sex Work' Leaves Edinburgh Strippers Jobless
Amidst a relentless U.K. media campaign demonizing sex work, the Edinburgh Council voted today to impose a “nil cap” on all sexual entertainment venues in the Scottish city, effectively banning all strip clubs.
TikTok Using 'Porn Filters' to Censor Other Types of Controversial Content
German investigative journalists have obtained evidence from TikTok corroborating free speech advocates' claims that some platforms are using “porn filters” to target other controversial content involving issues like politics, human rights and LGBTQ+ expression.
German Regulator Who Shut Down xHamster Describes Own Mission as 'Kafkaesque'
Tobias Schmid, the obscure local bureaucrat who spearheads Germany’s War on Porn and recently led a successful movement to force ISPs to ban xHamster in the country, gave an interview last week in which he admitted he has “no clear answer” on how to make age verification effective and acknowledged his anti-porn crusade is “a bit Kafkaesque.”
UK Government Unveils Controversial 'Digital Safety Bill'
Boris Johnson’s Conservative government in the U.K. has finally unveiled its controversial “Online Safety Bill,” and introduced it in Parliament today.
Emirates Increase Punishment for Viewing and Sharing 'Pornography' in Dubai
The United Arab Emirates has unveiled new laws increasing the punishment for viewing “pornography” online or sharing it via private messages and social media platforms in UAE territory, including Dubai.
xHamster Effectively Blocked in Germany After Government Order
xHamster has been blocked in Germany following a government order to the country’s top internet service providers.
UK's Online Safety Bill Criticized Over Expanding Scope
The U.K. government continues expanding the scope of a proposed Online Safety Bill, despite criticism by opponents and digital rights advocates that it is increasingly becoming an out-of-control, repressive “kitchen sink” bill.
Anti-Porn Lobby NCOSE Urges Action Against Netflix for 'Normalizing' Sex Work
Religiously inspired anti-porn lobby NCOSE released yesterday its annual “Dirty Dozen” list of companies it alleges are “major contributors to sexual exploitation" and encourages its followers to target.
French Government Asks Courts for Order to Block Pornhub, 4 Other Tube Sites
France’s media regulator ARCOM has gone to court to demand that the country’s ISPs enforce a total block of five specific adult tube sites — Pornhub, Tukif, xHamster, Xvideos and Xnxx — over their alleged lack of enforcement of a controversial age verification mandate.
German ISPs Exploring Legal Challenge to Government Order to Block xHamster
Hours after the German government ordered the country’s major internet service providers to block xHamster, one of the ISPs, PŸUR, told a digital rights group that it reserves the right “to have the decision legally reviewed by an independent court with a view to the legal regulations of net neutrality.”
German Government Orders ISPs to Block xHamster
Germany’s Commission for Youth Media Protection decided unanimously on Thursday to impose a network ban on xHamster.
Saudi Arabia Funds Initiative Against 'Porn Addiction'
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has launched a new website as part of a government public health initiative known as “Effah,” which claims to help people “get rid of pornography addiction” in 100 days.
Under Pressure From German Government, Twitter Begins Blocking Adult Content
Confirming the fears of sex workers and advocates around the world, Twitter has reportedly begun blocking German profiles that include adult content, after a local government official escalated a campaign to force the platform to implement age verification systems designed for “pornographic websites.”
UK Ministers Confirm New Age Verification Rules Target Twitter, Reddit
U.K. government officials confirmed last week that social media sites “hosting large amounts of pornographic material, such as Twitter and Reddit” would have to “introduce systems to remove adult material in the U.K., or introduce age checks to determine whether users are over 18,” The Guardian reported yesterday.
Australian Top Censor Moving Forward With Controversial Age Verification Scheme
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, who has acknowledged having conversations with the U.S.-based, religiously-inspired anti-porn lobby NCOSE, is now “developing a roadmap to implement age verification for online pornographic sites.”
German Police Find Old Adult Magazines in a Ditch, Claim Criminal 'Distribution of Pornography'
Police in Bavaria, Germany are seeking information on a pile of 1990s porn magazines found in a ditch on the side of a road, so that they can charge whoever disposed of the magazines with criminal “distribution of pornography.”