Anybody with an internet connection and a reasonable approximation of human intelligence has probably noticed the close resemblance of the current crusade against Pornhub to the previous one against Backpage. Both presented grotesque masturbatory fantasies of “child sex slaves” as fact; both made grandiose and mathematically-illiterate statistical claims unfounded in anything remotely resembling evidence; both were championed by religious fanatics whose propaganda was amplified by white savior poster child Nicholas Kristof, backed by the undeserved credibility of the staunchly prohibitionist New York Times; both targeted sex workers’ livelihoods by demonizing extremely popular websites used by independent workers to reach potential clients; both used “choke point” tactics to embarass credit card companies into discriminating against the targeted websites, turning them into censorship mechanisms; and both followed those back-door tactics with legislative attacks from sociopaths who saw a way to win more votes from the dangerously-ignorant, grossly-stupid busybodies who infest every city, region, and social group in the US. But while FOSTA only weakened Section 230 and frightened many US websites into self-censorship, the proposed SISEA is far more ambitious:
SISEA was introduced…by Senators Ben Sasse…and Jeff Merkley…[fellow politician Lindsey] Graham wrote [in support]…”I have concerns about our children’s ability to access pornographic material through the internet and…I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to limit society’s exposure to inappropriate material”…This rhetorical slippage — going from something few people disagree with (limiting children’s access to adult content) to something most people condemn (establishing state censorship of free sexual expression) in the span of only a few words— is consistent with the demands of religiously motivated War On Porn groups, such as…Morality in Media…Exodus Cry (an offshoot of Missouri’s International House of Prayer) and Fight the New Drug (whose connections to the Mormon Church, despite of their loud protestations, are too numerous to mention)…
But despite the dramatic similarities, there are also subtle (yet important) differences between this campaign and the last. As I’ve pointed out frequently over the past three years, FOSTA was a huge overreach on the government’s part; it was the impetus for a dramatic increase in sex worker rights activism and galvanized maintream support for decriminalization, even among politicians. While the owners and managers of Backpage were targeted by a witch hunt that continues to this day, Visa has already signaled some unwillingness to blindly follow the anti-sex bandwagon wherever it goes:
…Visa announced that [while] it…continues the suspension of card use on the company’s tube site Pornhub “until pending investigations are complete…Visa will reinstate acceptance privileges for MindGeek sites that offer professionally produced adult studio content”…
In other words, while Visa is perfectly happy to steal food out of the mouths of individual sex workers’ children, it is unwilling to completely forsake the adult content gravy train on rails owned and operated by fellow big corporations in order to support the evil fantasies of control freaks. And while major media organizations obediently parroted prohibitionist propaganda about Backpage and ignored FOSTA’s devastating effects on human lives until it was an accomplished fact, that isn’t the case this time:
After recent moves by payment platforms…to cut off access to Pornhub…sex workers…fear an oncoming “war on porn” that prevents them from making money for their work…adult performers…told NBC News that the payment companies’ latest actions hurt them financially far more than they hurt Pornhub. It’s especially destructive, they said, at a time when they have few other financial options…in the middle of a pandemic…Pornhub…ma[kes] money [like traditional broadcast TV stations,] by offering a vast free-to-access collection of videos uploaded by professional and amateur creators…[and] sell[ing] advertising…But since customers are currently not able to make any purchases on the site, adult performers say the companies’ moves have cut off a legal source of income…For a major legacy news company to publish an article sympathetic to sex workers and critical of attacks upon us, would have been unheard-of only three years ago. We’re still suffering from monstrous attacks on our lives and livelihoods, but at last the world is starting to pay attention. And that subtle difference may prove to change everthing.
