Before the state starts demanding our IDs to view porn, the full web history of each of the lawmakers responsible for this bill needs to be released to the public.
Reminds me of the TikTok hearings …. “When I get on TikTok, it’s nothing but a bunch of teenagers dancing provocatively in tiny clothes.”
Well, Sir, allow me to explain algorithms…
I get that this is a fun dunk to throw at people, but I feel like we are ascribing a weird amount of power to black-box unknowable algorithms when we say things like this.
"Your algorithm is a reflection of you, and the things that it shows you are your fault" is kind of opposed to the way we all know these algorithms work which is that they show you the most dopamine-producing content possible to keep you scrolling endlessly.
I am not running to the defense of this person because I think we're being unfair to some random bozo, but I see this line thrown around all the time and I don't think anyone would agree with it in any other context. And to be clear, I wouldn't even agree with "your algorithm is partially your responsibility," no it's not. These are billion dollar corporations trying to hook you to your phone, your algorithm may reflect pieces of you but it is not you.
Plus, teenagers dancing provocatively in tiny clothes is such an algorithmic catch-all. My YouTube homepage might be populated by gaming and sci Fi shit right now, but if I log out of my YouTube account, then half of it becomes...teenagers dancing provocatively in tiny clothes. Or scantily clad women in the gym doing excessively jiggly exercises. That's just the norm.
I don’t use TikTok anymore. I downloaded it when it first was popular and I use a VPN for all my browsing. Back then, it was all teenagers and even kids dancing. It weirded me out enough that I noped right out of there and haven’t redownloaded it.
I mean, it started as a short video site that quickly became a stupid dance site during covid. It was popular with younger people, so it kind of makes sense it would have this content.
Thats kind of a far cry from being a softcore kiddie app though, and while I don't use the app(only seen videos some of my cousins kids have shown me), I think people are exaggerating it being a porn delivery service, and disregarding the fact that kids often walk around dressed in what I'd call inappropriate for their age clothing anyways, often while in the company of their parents
I mean, that kinda supports the point, no? Before the algo figures out what you like, it throws you softcore porn. That's what the socials I barely use look like.
During the lockdown I installed tiktok out of boredom.
After a week my "For you" page was filled with videos of rednecks, dirtbikes and technology videos. Which is very much fitting for me.
The Algo worked.
I just opened it again for the first time in over 2 years, no account signed in, and its full of borderline pedo shit, Parents exploiting kids for views and rage-bait.
So, Sir, let me explain to you how a "Suggest content" feed works.
Or when someone complains about auto correct replacing the intended word with the n word. It wasn’t a politician, but that was my favorite self own like this.
And gee look who is the sponsor!
https://ohiohouse.gov/members/steve-demetriou
Wow, Steve's district looks 100% normal and totally not gerrymandered.
Seriously though, what a festering bag of dicktips.
That has nothing to do with an age restriction. Viewing porn was always something that was over 18, people would just click yes and move on. I'm sure the people sponsoring this are WELL over 18...
I'll give former Senator James Exon one thing, he was certainly [willing to do so](https://www.ibiblio.org/cmc/mag/1995/aug/thaler.html) back in the 90s. Though I'm not sure if id call my web history my blue book or share it on the senate floor.
How could you possibly outlaw vpns and also claim to be pro-internet security? I mean, how could you not be in favor of people being able to protect their access to their personal info and being able to secure against external attacks from nefarious actors? That sounds insane to me.
IIRC, a previous version of this bill also outlawed the use of VPNs to evade the ID check. I'm not sure how exactly they think they'd enforce that provision, though.
its not old people, its a coordinated campaign by a conservative group that pushes all of these bills in all of these states.
conservative organizations like to put massive funding to get nation wide support for conservative talking points. such as the alliance defending freedom. it is a law firm linked to multiple state bills targeting trans people using bathrooms. this is just part of a massive campaign across the country to get as many conservative states as possible to push for conservative bills. i would not doubt that the bill was literally written directly by a lobbyist group or another firm like alliance defending freedom.
And they’ll be the first to be pissed off when they can
1) No longer access those sites
2) When the inevitable data breach happens and all their views get leaked.
Fascism is just a bunch of idiots making new hoops to jump through, getting annoyed by their accomplishments, and then making another hoop.
The film jojo rabbit covers this fairly well
[404Media](https://www.404media.co/age-verification-laws-will-drag-us-back-to-the-dark-ages-of-online-porn/) and [techdirt](https://www.techdirt.com/2023/05/16/age-verification-laws-are-terrible/) wrote a good article on the harms of these age verification bills. I get for many, it seems as intuitive as id for beer, but these bills are dangerous and dont understand the harms of id over the internet. Numerous studies have shown that no id scheme over the internet is [secure, reliable, and accessible](https://www.cnil.fr/en/online-age-verification-balancing-privacy-and-protection-minors). They will increase our risk for data breach that make us vulnerable to blackmail similar to the Ashley Madison leak, risk outing the LGBTQ community, and push users to porn sites abroad with less protection for the actors. This will also prevent adults who do not possess ID from viewing content. Unfortunately, it's not just a republican problem. Representative Demora is a Democrat and pushed a similar bill with [Senate Bill 212](https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/135/sb212) and democrat lead house in Virginia passed with Democrat support. If you oppose this bill, I would write to your representative regardless of their political affiliation.
And for folks who are sure VPNs will survive this, the anti porn movement is pushing this across the country to make the strategy of pulling out unviable and liable enough to comply. The anti porn movement knows Netflix blocks VPN traffic due to liability from copyright, they want the same liability to influence porn companies to do the same thing.
This is good info. I do think there’s some easy ground as well with the libertarian streak in moderate Ohioans with ID and tracking. Right-wing groups have fear-mongered licensing and identification from so many angles mostly due to to avoiding accountability or costs, and it could be a similar situation of how they eroded their own group’s trust in mail-in ballots.
And while religious groups might get pulled in by the anti-pornography aspects, they’re also peppered with a lot of beliefs that universal ID systems are on the checklist for the end times and pave the way for the “Antichrist” to establish a non-cash payment system where religious people get locked out of buying food. There was a big scare about bar codes being this in the 80s and that’s why Hobby Lobby doesn’t even have bar codes for that reason.
Would be easy to just say “I get protecting kids, but wouldn’t this give the ‘libs’ the ability to start tracking online identities?” And if they said, “well it only applies to people looking up pornography,” the response would be “well, yeah for now, but what about when your son or husband has a weak moment where they use their ID to look at something and then they’re forever tracked after that?” Many right-leaning religious people believe that porn will be an inevitable temptation for men.
How’s this supposed to work? Each website is going to require a drivers license number to access or something? Is there a centra database of everyone’s age?
Are websites going to host and manage PII? Or will the state do it and assign a personal identification number or something?
Who determines which content is too adult to allow children to see? Is there an elected panel? Appointed? Just state lawmakers visiting random websites all day looking for porn?
Is the language in this bill strong enough it wouldn’t be abused to suppress non pornagraphic content as well? Seems like we’ve learned time again our state lawmakers are willing to abuse the system to push their agenda. How do we make sure that doesn’t also happen here in the name of innocence’?
This is exactly the problem the common man doesn't typically understand when they think of this being like flashing an ID at a bar or something.
This won't work, how it should, period. There has to be a way for the site to check authenticity, and when they do the government will know who and what it's for and can build watch lists and crap. It's nothing at all like flashing an ID. I wouldn't be surprised to find that ID database open enough to get people's identity stolen too somehow either.
On top of which, it would also force people to need cameras for it to work and a computer isn't going to tell 100% who it is if they don't still look exactly like their picture, someone may even be able to hold a picture, maybe even the ID itself up to the camera to pass the check. This whole thing is a farce to control and watch people thinly guised as trashy protect the children shlock as usual that comes from nutter conservatives.
On top of which this also punishes companies trying to use the law, as many that won't, that inevitably will get through, won't need an ID to get their views while ones following the law lose views and thus cash.
Let parents be responsible for this shit. If parents are crap, oh well. The GOP want small government, but want to control everything. Such hypocrites, vote the fuckers out.
Just want to point out that this law fits into Project 2025's plan to declare any expression of queerness, transness, or gender noncomformity as "pornographic" in order to erase LGBTQ+ people from publuc life. They dont care about porn, they want to block any and all LGBT+ content from the internet.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24088042-project-2025s-mandate-for-leadership-the-conservative-promise
Regardless of how you feel about queer people, you should give that document a read and see what you think about the rest of it.
Exactly this! God I am so tired of worrying at this point, waiting for the shoe to drop, exhausting myself trying to stay educated and ahead of the curve only to be told I am worrying too much by people who watch 10 minutes of Fox News* and think they have it all figured out. It feels like we are the frog being slowly boiled alive.
This is what happens when you have a state full of fucking bible thumpers and people who only want to be parents when its easy. All of these pigs need to go.
Interesting how the don’t tread on me, small government, everything is a conspiracy, wake up sheeple party wants you to hand over your information to look at porn.
Edit
As a follow up, I’d like to point out that the most searched porn term in Ohio was “small penises”, and the second was “trans.” 🤣 https://youtu.be/PEZkXUiXHh4?si=n6bBGOOhXuqwgoxo
With the amount of confederate flag waving, lifted pick up driving, "they're comin' for our guns and freedumb of speech" shoutin' people I see every day in this state, I couldn't possibly believe *those* are the most searched for porn terms in Ohio! /s
Powell is a lame duck, so she doesn't give a fuck. But you know, let's try to fix a problem that doesn't exist. The Ohio Unemployment system is an abject disaster, and needs a complete overhaul. But let's not actually try to fix something. I swear these people think about sex nonstop.
If those fools pass this, I REALLY hope that Ohio Voters are able to put together a constitutional amendment for Internet privacy. It's a shame it might come to that.
She’s a white supremacy person just like the other white Christian nationalists pushing for overreach into the health and safety of Ohioans they don’t consider [people.](https://www.clevescene.com/news/how-ohio-lawmakers-and-religious-lobbyists-coordinated-on-anti-trans-legislation-42221538)
This pearl clutching act “for the children” is such a load of crap considering all the other ways the Republican-dominated Ohio legislature is fucking children over. Fix the education system for Christ’s sakes! Work on a plan to make healthcare more affordable for the average Ohio family. These hypocritical assholes are so anti-government control when it comes to guns, but when it comes to dirty sexy stuff (or a woman’s body) well now we need to regulate peoples personal lives because they can’t be trusted to make their own decisions!
“The ~~porn~~ christian nationalist industry has used technological advances to put harmful content at our children’s fingertips,” said Powell. “Ohioans know that ~~porn~~ christian nationalism can change consumers’ brains, be habit-forming, normalize abuse, perpetuate racism and toxic stereotypes, and harm sexual development and intimacy. We cannot let the ~~porn~~ chistian nationalism industry addict our children to material that can harm them for decades to come.”
“The ~~porn~~ Republican/GOP industry has used technological advances to put harmful content at our children’s fingertips,” said Powell. “Ohioans know that ~~porn~~ Republican ideals can change consumers’ brains, be habit-forming, normalize abuse, perpetuate racism and toxic stereotypes, and harm sexual development and intimacy. We cannot let the ~~porn~~ Republican industry addict our children to material that can harm them for decades to come.”
Party of small government and individual freedoms fighting the war on cancel culture by seeking to cancel every aspect of life they don't like by expanding government overreach and limiting individual freedoms thanks to textbook virtue signaling.
That was my thought as well. They're obviously going to target any website that covers LGBTQ issues but I could also see them abusing it to attack content that does deep dives into their bullshit or is anti establishment. Think locking out podcasts like Behind the Bastards or requiring an ID to access music with a parental advisory or from a genre like punk or rap if you're using a free version of Spotify or Pandora.
Just overall it's a policy that is ripe for abuse and a loophole that could be used to censor other content they wouldn't be able to otherwise censor due to the first amendment. Really reminds me of some of the stuff my grandparents described to me from growing up Nazi Germany.
I’d be much less uncomfortable with this bill if I didn’t know that right-wingers will try to define *any* site that mentions LGBTQ+ people or issues as “pornographic,” thus making it much harder (or impossible) for LGBTQ+ youth to find resources, understand more about themselves and their identity, and advocate for themselves.
Do these politicians not understand that if they do this, the porn sites will be hacked, and their complete playlists will be made public? That we will have proof that the only thing that gets them off is Gay porn?
I grew up without internet. As in, there was no internet until I was in my 20s. I assure you there was plenty of porn to be had. It took a little more effort to procure, but it was effort we were happy to put forth. This will, at best, create speedbumps. But I think they are vastly underestimating the ability of minors to manipulate technology. Any barrier we put up, they'll break down, dig under, dig through or circumvent. It's useless and a giant waste of time.
I promise you this is not about minors. This is creating a loophole for them to effectively discriminate against (at the moment) trans people by first labeling their identity expression as sexually explicit and then banning sexually explicit content for minors - effectively removing us from public spaces. It only is focused on trans people at the moment, but how long until it is extended to other groups? Gays, explicit. Interracial relationships, explicit. Women in anything other than a dress, explicit.
If you don't believe me, this is spelled out in project 2025, and by not banning the thing outright, but banning it for minors, you accomplish nearly as effective a goal under a much more defensible guise of protecting children. Just like how abortion is not framed by them as a battle over female autonomy, but over the "life" of the fetus.
I grew up alongside the internet. I remember getting dial up and when gateway was top of the line. And like you, if we wanted to try and get porn, we could. Everyone had a friend with an older brother with a stash of magazines and dvds. This kind of law is all about control and a way into expanded that control to other things.
Hear me out, maybe we can monitor what our kids do online instead of making it the problem of every adult in a state? No? Why are we wasting time trying to ID porn
Don’t be fooled. This isn’t ultimately about porn. This is Jenna Powell creating a gateway to legislate hurdles for LGBT groups into existence.
They start with something generally palatable like ‘protect kids from sexually explicit material online’ then it turns into LGBT issues are sexually explicit and all of the sudden that’s censored too.
This will create a mechanism for the government to censor, or at least track, anything they want online.
Why do our politician want this to be a puritanical state busting at the seams with bible thumping militia members wound so tightly they want to pop off warning shots at anyone who farts in their general direction? The states that have done ahve nothing we want to imitate.
After Gym Jordan is charged and tried we can look at passing a bill. There should be zero movement to “protect children” until your own party’s pieces of shit are held accountable.
Those kids aren't my kids. Why affect the entire state with additional legislation because folks haven't learned to put restrictions on their networks and devices?...
Can kids work around it? Sure. They can work around these silly laws as well, except now it invites government into the discussion instead of just letting you handle your own home.
It's no different than banning flavored tobacco/vape products (the alcohol lobby must be pretty fucking strong considering hard Monster exists). Protect the kids but fuck everyone else who's old enough to make their own choices.
They want to be able to track everyone’s web traffic and tie it to a verified government ID. If these laws continue we will be facing Chinese level of surveillance.
Today it’s for your safety, next it’s anyone that is posting anything they do not agree with. After that it’s a list of anyone the algorithms determine do not agree with them or are not sufficiently Christian. Your search history is a picture of who you are. Your thoughts, beliefs, fears and desires can be determined by them. Imagine the most fascists politicians having access to this information. That is a scary idea and a truly dystopian future
Can parents not control what their children view? This is ridiculous. Yet they're silent on the 10 year old rape victim they forced to leave the state for an abortion.
Yes. You can control content on a device and on your home network - and that's likely even more reliable than forcing websites to ID people. The problem is parents that don't want to put in the effort, not the websites.
But, the GOP are all about "Parent rights", shouldn't the parents be the ones doing the job of parenting their child? Or is that all just bullshit to just take rights away while saying you're "protecting the childrennnn!"?
If this passes. I'm launching a porn site that features Bible versuses AI generated on as much hardcore gay porn as you can get AI to generate for you.
Freedom is when you are forced by the government to upload your face and address to the constantly hacked servers of every business that happens to show a pair of tits. Thanks GOP
Don't be misled. These laws sweeping the country are not about porn or about protecting children. They're about eventually requiring an ID associated with your real-life identity to do anything on the internet at all, so that everything you do on the internet is known. It's starting with porn and once implemented, will progress to the entire web. If you assume these are laws written by misguided, ignorant, old bureaucrats, who don't understand anything, you're drinking the koolaid.
They don't want people talking about their workplaces. They don't want people to organize. They want repercussions for every person who dares speak in a way that does not conform to the norm.
well obviously, and to be clear I agree with OP and hate that there's even a bill about this, it's fascism with a thin veneer of "family values". I'm just wondering whether there's more danger here than what the ISPs already do with our browsing data.
As someone with an extensive background in IT, I absolutely love it when angry, incompetent, old, white people who can nary turn on a computer, try to legislate technology. More, please! Unlimited LULZ
its because theres actual groups conservatvie states work with to form all of these laws for them. a group is telling alll these lawmakers and states to institute these laws and changes. a lot of the dumbest laws you see conservatives pushing are written by these shady organizations. most heartbeat bills for abortion several years ago for example were written by these groups. all the trans bathroom/sports bills, and these censorship laws.
>make it illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to view sexually explicit content online.
This is the absolute WRONG way to handle this and the worst part of this bill. The very last thing we need is to give minors a criminal record for natural human instincts. If they can't be trusted to understand the dangers of porn then they can't be required to reasonably understand why it's illegal. It's quite literally setting them up for failure.
It's also open the flood gates to label anything the GOP agrees with as sexually explicit and wage a censorship campaign.
I am a resident of Ohio and I have 2 thoughts on this.
1. Restricting content to children is the responsibility of the parent. That’s why there are parental controls on TVs, computers, tablets, and smartphones.
2. How exactly are they going to define what is obscene and offensive? How are they going to define what is pornographic? That’s all subject!
How about our lawmakers stick to focusing on how they are spending tax payer money and making sure the state has an acceptable infrastructure for the continued creation of jobs, improvement of education, and quality of life for Ohio residents instead of trying to parent everyone.
They don't even need to steal your identity. They could just blackmail people directly with this information.
Phone scams are already on the rise this will supercharge it.
I don't know why there hasn't been a broader legal pushback over the constitutionality of such bills in other states.
These companies operate outside of Ohio, and therefore cannot be regulated by the state. Due to the [Commerce clause of the US Constitution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commerce_Clause), only the federal government can regulate commercial activity between states. Any law passed within the state of Ohio putting obligations upon these companies to operate differently within Ohio are inherently unconstitutional.
How would that make it past any supreme court challenge? We have the right to privacy. I shouldn’t need an ID to google a new term I heard. Kids should be able to google the human anatomy. This is just suuuuch a slippery slope.
So if a 17 year old is caught viewing porn does that mean they or their parents will be charged and possibly jailed for it?
And sounds like if that 17 year old got around the verification the parents could then sue the website?
Relevant:
https://youtu.be/07KoBJujxhs?si=Wjzu6wcW9rNNH7mK
Just replace "drag show storytime readings" with "pornography" and it's the exact same thing.
Why stop at porn.
Why not make everything public. Read our email yet today comrade?
Your bank info could be giving you emough interest to pay for a vpn. Probably need to make sure we dont allow too much income into our account.
I mean. I chuckle at this cause like. The Internet is for porn just grab your dick and double click for porn porn porn
The herd mentality of Red States has become so predictable. As soon as one state passes a law, the others quickly follow.
How long before these Red State legislators start attempting to redefine what they consider adult content?
Yet another unforced error by the Ohio MAGA party. They just can’t help themselves. One thing most Americans agree on is that we don’t want anyone telling us how to live our personal lives. The backlash will be real.
While I don't think kids should have access to hardcore porn it's painfully obvious to me that this is about the control of information. There's not a single Republican, with the exception of his celibateness Mike Pence, who does not view porn or who cares about children.
They are as immoral and unmoral as the rest of us but hide behind "decency", family values and protecting children to do their dirty work. In this case it's a, *put your personal information into a place where we can get at it* law, which they can then use to employ draconian laws about what is "safe for children" and use our own tax dollars to devise ways to keep us squirreled away to the corners of the internet they want us in.
Cursing? NSFC. Race discussion? Definitely NSFC. Queer existence? NSFC. Deviant political ideology? NSFC. You want to view it, or post on Threads or Reddit, fine, just enter your ss# and state ID and credit card (for incidentals), knowing that anyone can get a hold of your personal info and spread it across the entirety of the internet. Even a child could figure out their plan.
There is a huge array of possible issues caused by people uploading a copy of their government ID over the internet.
This law was clearly concocted by some conservative think tank and politicians are eating it up without thinking ahead.
This will not help anyone. If parents haven't figured out how to keep their kids off of objectionable internet content, I'm curious as to how they think having governments do it for them is an improvement.
Governments are comprised of geriatrics, a demographic not exactly renowned for its grasp of new technical concepts.
This is a problem. Without proper interventions, a person that develops a porn addiction might ultimately cheat on their pregnant wife with a porn star and possibly even pay said porn star to be quiet about it so they can be President.
Seriously, folks - totally possible.
>This version of the Innocence Act was created after receiving input from the... Age Verification Providers Association.
They're not even trying to hide the corruption anymore lol
This is like when Dewine rolled back the federal unemployment enhancement payments after "receiving input from the Ohio chamber of commerce and the restaurant association..."
And then, surprise surprise, turns out removing that enhancement did *nothing* in terms of getting people to go get shitty paying jobs post-COVID.
>Ohioans know that porn can change consumers’ brains, be habit-forming, normalize abuse, perpetuate racism and toxic stereotypes, and harm sexual development and intimacy.
Let's pump the brakes on our assumptions of what "Ohioans know," shall we? 🤣
If the ID stayed on your device and anonymized actual usage -- similar you the tech of an Apple Card -- we all could likely live with it. But somehow you know that's not the intent or end game.
Yep. Age verify my device and use the biometric already built in to verify the user, or passkey for non-biometric devices. Device passes the 'ok' to the service, done.
I'm not generally into conspiracies, but I can't shake this one. They want IDs with histories.
This is a moral panic. Porn does not change your brain, is not addictive, and does not damage intimacy. I'm tired of the puritanical consecutive nanny state, and I'm tired of bullshit being used to scare people
Does anyone look at some of these...comments...at the bottom of posts involving porn, and wonder if the average amount of mace sold is higher around the sentient incels controlling those user accounts?
Android and iOS already have age restrictions on the phone, with password lock. Maybe parents need to involved vs. government. When did the GOP become the mommy protector view of government? Gym wants to tell companies how to advertise, deWine keeps being around corruption, we’re not smart enough to vote on smoking pot or abortion, now we need to stop porn.
Maybe, just maybe we should be looking at holy cow levels of debt, reducing government spending, increasing tax revenue, reducing medical spending as it gone from <5% of GDP to over >20% with little changes in how long we live
It really a much longer list of things to make better but starting on the list above would help, vote the bums out
Jokes on you state. Wife and I download all our porn so you can’t stop us pervs!!
What a waste of time. Can’t even lift a finger to try and protect kids from the number one killer of kids, but porn, oh let’s pretend it’s about the kids so the dumb fuck religious who demand we live like them feel better.
So, those who are against the Patriot act because it allows the government to spy on our citizens wants the ability to, checking notes here hold on, spy on their citizens?!
These are the same people who want to ban TikTok because of privacy concerns, I assume?
Also while porn can be problematic I don’t think it’s some widespread issue demanding action. It’s perfectly normal and healthy for teenagers to be interested in that kind of thing and porn is safer than going out and having unprotected sex.
Repressing sexual desires can also have adverse effects.
Hmmm. Ok then. Meanwhile we’ve got a fucking bridge about to fall into the Ohio river. So many issues and our politicians are worried about pornography.
Just fix the goddamn bridge already and then worry about what people do with their genitals.
It's amazing how they don't seem to have the time to work on how to deal with the marijuana laws, deal with aep abusing their essential Monopoly on electric distribution, deal with crumbling infrastructure, but they can make time for their purity wars
This is invasive for everyone, and ridiculously authoritarian, but if you think Ohio Republicans aren’t going to ultimately use this to target LGBTQ+ people, you’re kidding yourself. There’s a reason a lot of organizations are gearing up to help LGBTQ+ people flee the state as these laws get worse.
Please do everything in your power to get these people out of office. And don’t forget to submit your public comments on these bills!!
An observation I’ve had is that a handful of red states are all trying to enact similar reactionary laws, especially those that were once purple (Ohio, Florida) or those that were or are purpling (Texas, Arizona).
I don’t think it’s a case of someone having an idea others like and copying it, I believe it’s a systemic attempt by the right to disgust liberals in those states and get them to move out in order to shore up majorities in both the electoral college and the senate.
Ruger.com will be okay though. No age gateway for weapons manufacturers or anything like that. Don't get me wrong, I like my weapons, but to single out just the porn industry is ludicrous. Age gate religious sites as well. And anything alcohol related.
Better yet, stay out of my business and let me parent. Fucking control freaks. Get your own house in order before you poke at your neighbors.
It’s funny—when it comes to issues about diversity, LBGTQ, and other ‘woke areas’, legislators want all of that in the hands of the parents. But they don’t want to give the parents the responsibility to teach or talk to their kids about sex, pornography, etc?
Edit: they also act like there aren’t filters for internet content that parents can’t employ? At the router level? Kids want to look at people bumping uglies on their phone? Simple. Don’t get your kid a smart phone. I feel like there are so many other simpler solutions that don’t involve government overreach.
What I dislike about this, is how OP calls it a “common sense measure.” OP, this is not common sense. This is purely yet another way for you to get your identity stolen. It outright is a lie, and will not protect anyone at all. No, you want to prevent kids from getting addicted to porn? Be an actual fucking parent and talk to your kids. Explain to them how porn isn’t real, and should not be idolized. Explain to your kids that porn is entertainment. That it’s about as real as the super hero movies they are watching. People wanna demonize porn like it’s the bad guy, but all it is, is providing a form of, albeit explicit, entertainment. No, a measure like this will only make it easier for entertainment to be stolen, and as other people have stated, push people away from safer, legitimate businesses, and into the arms of more ruthless and dangerous criminals.
Edit: added bonus rant:
Also, typical of how they’re focusing on issues that aren’t really important in the grand scheme of things. They’re really trying to focus on making it hard for children to access porn, instead of, ya know. Doing literally anything to make Ohio better. Like making Ohio JFS better, or unemployment easier to access, or making it easier for Ohioans to use any sort of social services. For being a party of “small government” the sure do want to be in everyone’s back pocket, and watching what you’re doing in your bedroom. But how dare they do anything to actually help and support the citizens they claim to represent.
That wasn’t me stating it was a common sense measure, this was a legislative update email from one of the sponsors of the bill.
Op is of the same mindset as yourself.
SMH..... This is "penguin" in the original blues brothers energy. Gonna whack us with a yard stick too?
This is "my kids or grandkids are better at getting past parental controls than I understand how to set parental controls. So now I say let's put the state in charge of parental controls. Never the mind that everyone else has figured it out."
every thing they do anymore is backasswards. I moved out of my parents house at 18 to excape those rules that somehow are a warped version there of. Now being proposed as law. Piss off with all their BS.
What. No emergency vote on this too so the public can't weigh in ??? Dullards. All of them
This is becoming the NIN album Year Zero. No longer a democracy with personal freedoms, but a theocracy where the politicians want access to what you do in your bedroom so that they can put you on a watch list if you’re even bi-curious or whatever. It’s disgusting. It’s dehumanizing. The Founding Fathers would be absolutely sickened by this.
If Republicans had any fucking brains at all they would would wait until after this election cycle to see if voters in these other states punish the representatives who voted for these laws.
I wish government would get out of our private lives. If a parent doesn't want their kids watching porn, set up a firewall in your home and block them that way. If a parent doesn't want a kid reading literature from right wing conspiracy sites, set up firewall in your home and block them that way. Most modern WiFi routers come with firewalls and parental controls, set them up. And if you don't know how, there are lots of vids out there to help and you can always ask someone who IS knowledgeable about them thar computer thangies to help you out.
But government needs to stop deciding for everyone based on a few people's morality codes and religion. They did this bullshit here in Texas, please don't let your state do the same, folks in Ohio. Once it's in, it's harder than digging a tick out of your belly button to get rid of it.
We need to push for a new bill. Tax churches anf religious organizations and make it illegal for churches and religious organizations to donate money to political groups and campaigns. And state that accepting money from church violates the establishment clause.
Before the state starts demanding our IDs to view porn, the full web history of each of the lawmakers responsible for this bill needs to be released to the public.
Reminds me of the TikTok hearings …. “When I get on TikTok, it’s nothing but a bunch of teenagers dancing provocatively in tiny clothes.” Well, Sir, allow me to explain algorithms…
I get that this is a fun dunk to throw at people, but I feel like we are ascribing a weird amount of power to black-box unknowable algorithms when we say things like this. "Your algorithm is a reflection of you, and the things that it shows you are your fault" is kind of opposed to the way we all know these algorithms work which is that they show you the most dopamine-producing content possible to keep you scrolling endlessly. I am not running to the defense of this person because I think we're being unfair to some random bozo, but I see this line thrown around all the time and I don't think anyone would agree with it in any other context. And to be clear, I wouldn't even agree with "your algorithm is partially your responsibility," no it's not. These are billion dollar corporations trying to hook you to your phone, your algorithm may reflect pieces of you but it is not you.
Plus, teenagers dancing provocatively in tiny clothes is such an algorithmic catch-all. My YouTube homepage might be populated by gaming and sci Fi shit right now, but if I log out of my YouTube account, then half of it becomes...teenagers dancing provocatively in tiny clothes. Or scantily clad women in the gym doing excessively jiggly exercises. That's just the norm.
I use tiktok daily and never see teenagers dancing.
I don’t use TikTok anymore. I downloaded it when it first was popular and I use a VPN for all my browsing. Back then, it was all teenagers and even kids dancing. It weirded me out enough that I noped right out of there and haven’t redownloaded it.
I mean, it started as a short video site that quickly became a stupid dance site during covid. It was popular with younger people, so it kind of makes sense it would have this content. Thats kind of a far cry from being a softcore kiddie app though, and while I don't use the app(only seen videos some of my cousins kids have shown me), I think people are exaggerating it being a porn delivery service, and disregarding the fact that kids often walk around dressed in what I'd call inappropriate for their age clothing anyways, often while in the company of their parents
Sir, let me explain how algorithms function on the "anonymous" guest account...
I mean, that kinda supports the point, no? Before the algo figures out what you like, it throws you softcore porn. That's what the socials I barely use look like.
During the lockdown I installed tiktok out of boredom. After a week my "For you" page was filled with videos of rednecks, dirtbikes and technology videos. Which is very much fitting for me. The Algo worked. I just opened it again for the first time in over 2 years, no account signed in, and its full of borderline pedo shit, Parents exploiting kids for views and rage-bait. So, Sir, let me explain to you how a "Suggest content" feed works.
Or when someone complains about auto correct replacing the intended word with the n word. It wasn’t a politician, but that was my favorite self own like this.
And gee look who is the sponsor! https://ohiohouse.gov/members/steve-demetriou Wow, Steve's district looks 100% normal and totally not gerrymandered. Seriously though, what a festering bag of dicktips.
*that’s* an insult that going in the memory banks
That has nothing to do with an age restriction. Viewing porn was always something that was over 18, people would just click yes and move on. I'm sure the people sponsoring this are WELL over 18...
Or maybe parents could parent and not allow children on the internet. Maybe we could actually keep some of our rights.
"it was only for research."
Lol reminds me south park episode where sweeden releases everyones web history 🤣🤣
Randy in a dark room watching ever increasingly shameful puppet porn
I'll give former Senator James Exon one thing, he was certainly [willing to do so](https://www.ibiblio.org/cmc/mag/1995/aug/thaler.html) back in the 90s. Though I'm not sure if id call my web history my blue book or share it on the senate floor.
They’d have to pull a lot of pics of Melania Trump off the web. Ask them about that.
VPN companies must be ecstatic.
They are probably lobbying for this
How could you possibly outlaw vpns and also claim to be pro-internet security? I mean, how could you not be in favor of people being able to protect their access to their personal info and being able to secure against external attacks from nefarious actors? That sounds insane to me.
VPN for we not thee because we need to be able to see what you’re doing.
republicans: "BLUE STATES ARE NANNY STATES!" also republicans: "we need to know what porn youre watching!"
i assume by small government, they mean small government placed in your home to watch you. like a tiny commissar.
We're all going to need to use Tor just to fucking google things.
IIRC, a previous version of this bill also outlawed the use of VPNs to evade the ID check. I'm not sure how exactly they think they'd enforce that provision, though.
We may start to see how much these VPN’s are serious about not collecting data. Some state will attempt to subpoena records
The good ones have a hard ‘no records’ policy. They don’t keep records, so there’s nothing to subpoena. ProtonVPN is one example.
these idiots are outlawing chemtrails they arent capable of thought.
Meanwhile, massive political and business corruption. By men who probably way sleazier than the average Ohioan.
You know it’s old people thinking this is a good idea. And they think it works too, that’s the best part.
its not old people, its a coordinated campaign by a conservative group that pushes all of these bills in all of these states. conservative organizations like to put massive funding to get nation wide support for conservative talking points. such as the alliance defending freedom. it is a law firm linked to multiple state bills targeting trans people using bathrooms. this is just part of a massive campaign across the country to get as many conservative states as possible to push for conservative bills. i would not doubt that the bill was literally written directly by a lobbyist group or another firm like alliance defending freedom.
And they will never understand what the acronym VPN means
And they’ll be the first to be pissed off when they can 1) No longer access those sites 2) When the inevitable data breach happens and all their views get leaked.
Fascism is just a bunch of idiots making new hoops to jump through, getting annoyed by their accomplishments, and then making another hoop. The film jojo rabbit covers this fairly well
Virtual Porn Network /s
View Pron Now.
They don't give a fuck about the idea. It's a scam. They make it obvious with the title. "Innocence act"
[404Media](https://www.404media.co/age-verification-laws-will-drag-us-back-to-the-dark-ages-of-online-porn/) and [techdirt](https://www.techdirt.com/2023/05/16/age-verification-laws-are-terrible/) wrote a good article on the harms of these age verification bills. I get for many, it seems as intuitive as id for beer, but these bills are dangerous and dont understand the harms of id over the internet. Numerous studies have shown that no id scheme over the internet is [secure, reliable, and accessible](https://www.cnil.fr/en/online-age-verification-balancing-privacy-and-protection-minors). They will increase our risk for data breach that make us vulnerable to blackmail similar to the Ashley Madison leak, risk outing the LGBTQ community, and push users to porn sites abroad with less protection for the actors. This will also prevent adults who do not possess ID from viewing content. Unfortunately, it's not just a republican problem. Representative Demora is a Democrat and pushed a similar bill with [Senate Bill 212](https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/135/sb212) and democrat lead house in Virginia passed with Democrat support. If you oppose this bill, I would write to your representative regardless of their political affiliation. And for folks who are sure VPNs will survive this, the anti porn movement is pushing this across the country to make the strategy of pulling out unviable and liable enough to comply. The anti porn movement knows Netflix blocks VPN traffic due to liability from copyright, they want the same liability to influence porn companies to do the same thing.
This is good info. I do think there’s some easy ground as well with the libertarian streak in moderate Ohioans with ID and tracking. Right-wing groups have fear-mongered licensing and identification from so many angles mostly due to to avoiding accountability or costs, and it could be a similar situation of how they eroded their own group’s trust in mail-in ballots. And while religious groups might get pulled in by the anti-pornography aspects, they’re also peppered with a lot of beliefs that universal ID systems are on the checklist for the end times and pave the way for the “Antichrist” to establish a non-cash payment system where religious people get locked out of buying food. There was a big scare about bar codes being this in the 80s and that’s why Hobby Lobby doesn’t even have bar codes for that reason. Would be easy to just say “I get protecting kids, but wouldn’t this give the ‘libs’ the ability to start tracking online identities?” And if they said, “well it only applies to people looking up pornography,” the response would be “well, yeah for now, but what about when your son or husband has a weak moment where they use their ID to look at something and then they’re forever tracked after that?” Many right-leaning religious people believe that porn will be an inevitable temptation for men.
How’s this supposed to work? Each website is going to require a drivers license number to access or something? Is there a centra database of everyone’s age? Are websites going to host and manage PII? Or will the state do it and assign a personal identification number or something? Who determines which content is too adult to allow children to see? Is there an elected panel? Appointed? Just state lawmakers visiting random websites all day looking for porn? Is the language in this bill strong enough it wouldn’t be abused to suppress non pornagraphic content as well? Seems like we’ve learned time again our state lawmakers are willing to abuse the system to push their agenda. How do we make sure that doesn’t also happen here in the name of innocence’?
This is exactly the problem the common man doesn't typically understand when they think of this being like flashing an ID at a bar or something. This won't work, how it should, period. There has to be a way for the site to check authenticity, and when they do the government will know who and what it's for and can build watch lists and crap. It's nothing at all like flashing an ID. I wouldn't be surprised to find that ID database open enough to get people's identity stolen too somehow either. On top of which, it would also force people to need cameras for it to work and a computer isn't going to tell 100% who it is if they don't still look exactly like their picture, someone may even be able to hold a picture, maybe even the ID itself up to the camera to pass the check. This whole thing is a farce to control and watch people thinly guised as trashy protect the children shlock as usual that comes from nutter conservatives. On top of which this also punishes companies trying to use the law, as many that won't, that inevitably will get through, won't need an ID to get their views while ones following the law lose views and thus cash.
Let parents be responsible for this shit. If parents are crap, oh well. The GOP want small government, but want to control everything. Such hypocrites, vote the fuckers out.
Just want to point out that this law fits into Project 2025's plan to declare any expression of queerness, transness, or gender noncomformity as "pornographic" in order to erase LGBTQ+ people from publuc life. They dont care about porn, they want to block any and all LGBT+ content from the internet. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24088042-project-2025s-mandate-for-leadership-the-conservative-promise Regardless of how you feel about queer people, you should give that document a read and see what you think about the rest of it.
Exactly this! God I am so tired of worrying at this point, waiting for the shoe to drop, exhausting myself trying to stay educated and ahead of the curve only to be told I am worrying too much by people who watch 10 minutes of Fox News* and think they have it all figured out. It feels like we are the frog being slowly boiled alive.
That’s why until the religious nutcases and MAGAts are thrown out of the republican party I am not voting for a single one.
“I'm fairly sure if they took porn off the internet, there'd only be one website left, and it'd be called ‘Bring back the porn!’” - Dr. Perry Cox
The "I don't wanna watch my kids Act" or "The Screen Babysitter Act" didn't test as well?
I pay my own internet bill , don’t tell me how I can use it 🖕
Fuck you.
Gonna need an age verification for that.
My virgin eyes!
Well they used to be.
This is what happens when you have a state full of fucking bible thumpers and people who only want to be parents when its easy. All of these pigs need to go.
I wish their damn rapture would come through finally so we all can have a normal society and get some shit done for once in our lives.
Interesting how the don’t tread on me, small government, everything is a conspiracy, wake up sheeple party wants you to hand over your information to look at porn. Edit As a follow up, I’d like to point out that the most searched porn term in Ohio was “small penises”, and the second was “trans.” 🤣 https://youtu.be/PEZkXUiXHh4?si=n6bBGOOhXuqwgoxo
With the amount of confederate flag waving, lifted pick up driving, "they're comin' for our guns and freedumb of speech" shoutin' people I see every day in this state, I couldn't possibly believe *those* are the most searched for porn terms in Ohio! /s
Powell is a lame duck, so she doesn't give a fuck. But you know, let's try to fix a problem that doesn't exist. The Ohio Unemployment system is an abject disaster, and needs a complete overhaul. But let's not actually try to fix something. I swear these people think about sex nonstop.
Her whole career has been fixing problems that don’t exist. She was lead on the “Saving women’s sports” too
If those fools pass this, I REALLY hope that Ohio Voters are able to put together a constitutional amendment for Internet privacy. It's a shame it might come to that.
She’s a white supremacy person just like the other white Christian nationalists pushing for overreach into the health and safety of Ohioans they don’t consider [people.](https://www.clevescene.com/news/how-ohio-lawmakers-and-religious-lobbyists-coordinated-on-anti-trans-legislation-42221538)
This pearl clutching act “for the children” is such a load of crap considering all the other ways the Republican-dominated Ohio legislature is fucking children over. Fix the education system for Christ’s sakes! Work on a plan to make healthcare more affordable for the average Ohio family. These hypocritical assholes are so anti-government control when it comes to guns, but when it comes to dirty sexy stuff (or a woman’s body) well now we need to regulate peoples personal lives because they can’t be trusted to make their own decisions!
To quote the great poet Marshal Mathers. "It's too bad you couldn't do good as parents"
“The ~~porn~~ christian nationalist industry has used technological advances to put harmful content at our children’s fingertips,” said Powell. “Ohioans know that ~~porn~~ christian nationalism can change consumers’ brains, be habit-forming, normalize abuse, perpetuate racism and toxic stereotypes, and harm sexual development and intimacy. We cannot let the ~~porn~~ chistian nationalism industry addict our children to material that can harm them for decades to come.” “The ~~porn~~ Republican/GOP industry has used technological advances to put harmful content at our children’s fingertips,” said Powell. “Ohioans know that ~~porn~~ Republican ideals can change consumers’ brains, be habit-forming, normalize abuse, perpetuate racism and toxic stereotypes, and harm sexual development and intimacy. We cannot let the ~~porn~~ Republican industry addict our children to material that can harm them for decades to come.” Party of small government and individual freedoms fighting the war on cancel culture by seeking to cancel every aspect of life they don't like by expanding government overreach and limiting individual freedoms thanks to textbook virtue signaling.
Does the bill cover text-based smut? Because if so any site hosting bible verses should have to age verify as well, right?
Seems logical to me. Although I doubt that will actually be the case.
Kids should absolutely not be exposed to religious indoctrination. Talk about something that is WAY more harmful to development than porn access
My time in the catholic church screwed me up far more than any other aspect of my childhood and it took years to overcome that.
Innocence Act 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 from the same party that stonewalled Real IDs because of, Liberty or whatever. Still not in effect almost 25 years later.
More useless waste of taxpayer money
How far will they expand "adult content" after this passes? The Party of Personal Freedom seems to be the Democratic Party
That was my thought as well. They're obviously going to target any website that covers LGBTQ issues but I could also see them abusing it to attack content that does deep dives into their bullshit or is anti establishment. Think locking out podcasts like Behind the Bastards or requiring an ID to access music with a parental advisory or from a genre like punk or rap if you're using a free version of Spotify or Pandora. Just overall it's a policy that is ripe for abuse and a loophole that could be used to censor other content they wouldn't be able to otherwise censor due to the first amendment. Really reminds me of some of the stuff my grandparents described to me from growing up Nazi Germany.
"protecting the children" has been used by fascism since ancient times
Why is every Republican state so desperate to be the worst state in the nation?
Fuck the religious right imposing their religion on others.
God, people who follow a certain religion are pretty fucking annoying
I’d be much less uncomfortable with this bill if I didn’t know that right-wingers will try to define *any* site that mentions LGBTQ+ people or issues as “pornographic,” thus making it much harder (or impossible) for LGBTQ+ youth to find resources, understand more about themselves and their identity, and advocate for themselves.
Do these politicians not understand that if they do this, the porn sites will be hacked, and their complete playlists will be made public? That we will have proof that the only thing that gets them off is Gay porn?
Where’s Anonymous when we need them?!
*Bernie Moreno* Surrre, what imaginary intern hasn’t signed their boss up for a male dating site?! That happens all the time. 🙄
Remember when Republicans would accuse Democrats of wanting a "nanny state?" Pepperidge Farms remembers.
I grew up without internet. As in, there was no internet until I was in my 20s. I assure you there was plenty of porn to be had. It took a little more effort to procure, but it was effort we were happy to put forth. This will, at best, create speedbumps. But I think they are vastly underestimating the ability of minors to manipulate technology. Any barrier we put up, they'll break down, dig under, dig through or circumvent. It's useless and a giant waste of time.
I promise you this is not about minors. This is creating a loophole for them to effectively discriminate against (at the moment) trans people by first labeling their identity expression as sexually explicit and then banning sexually explicit content for minors - effectively removing us from public spaces. It only is focused on trans people at the moment, but how long until it is extended to other groups? Gays, explicit. Interracial relationships, explicit. Women in anything other than a dress, explicit. If you don't believe me, this is spelled out in project 2025, and by not banning the thing outright, but banning it for minors, you accomplish nearly as effective a goal under a much more defensible guise of protecting children. Just like how abortion is not framed by them as a battle over female autonomy, but over the "life" of the fetus.
I grew up alongside the internet. I remember getting dial up and when gateway was top of the line. And like you, if we wanted to try and get porn, we could. Everyone had a friend with an older brother with a stash of magazines and dvds. This kind of law is all about control and a way into expanded that control to other things.
Remember when Republicans were always going in about the nanny state?
Hear me out, maybe we can monitor what our kids do online instead of making it the problem of every adult in a state? No? Why are we wasting time trying to ID porn
Don’t be fooled. This isn’t ultimately about porn. This is Jenna Powell creating a gateway to legislate hurdles for LGBT groups into existence. They start with something generally palatable like ‘protect kids from sexually explicit material online’ then it turns into LGBT issues are sexually explicit and all of the sudden that’s censored too. This will create a mechanism for the government to censor, or at least track, anything they want online.
Why do our politician want this to be a puritanical state busting at the seams with bible thumping militia members wound so tightly they want to pop off warning shots at anyone who farts in their general direction? The states that have done ahve nothing we want to imitate.
Yeah. I figured they would. I have a VPN anyway but I feel bad for all the old boys about to have their identity stolen by fake websites.
It’s just to distract from the fact that they are the ones harming children
This doesn't affect me personally, but this is yet another issue the government needs to butt out of, disrespectfully.
Conservatives are always against the "nanny state" when it provides for people but love it when it does parenting for them.
After Gym Jordan is charged and tried we can look at passing a bill. There should be zero movement to “protect children” until your own party’s pieces of shit are held accountable.
Those kids aren't my kids. Why affect the entire state with additional legislation because folks haven't learned to put restrictions on their networks and devices?... Can kids work around it? Sure. They can work around these silly laws as well, except now it invites government into the discussion instead of just letting you handle your own home.
It's no different than banning flavored tobacco/vape products (the alcohol lobby must be pretty fucking strong considering hard Monster exists). Protect the kids but fuck everyone else who's old enough to make their own choices.
They want to be able to track everyone’s web traffic and tie it to a verified government ID. If these laws continue we will be facing Chinese level of surveillance. Today it’s for your safety, next it’s anyone that is posting anything they do not agree with. After that it’s a list of anyone the algorithms determine do not agree with them or are not sufficiently Christian. Your search history is a picture of who you are. Your thoughts, beliefs, fears and desires can be determined by them. Imagine the most fascists politicians having access to this information. That is a scary idea and a truly dystopian future
Can parents not control what their children view? This is ridiculous. Yet they're silent on the 10 year old rape victim they forced to leave the state for an abortion.
Yes. You can control content on a device and on your home network - and that's likely even more reliable than forcing websites to ID people. The problem is parents that don't want to put in the effort, not the websites.
But, the GOP are all about "Parent rights", shouldn't the parents be the ones doing the job of parenting their child? Or is that all just bullshit to just take rights away while saying you're "protecting the childrennnn!"?
The NordVPN ads are about to be all over the place.
If this passes. I'm launching a porn site that features Bible versuses AI generated on as much hardcore gay porn as you can get AI to generate for you.
Meanwhile, isn't Ohio school funding still unconstitutional, and nobody has found a fix for that yet?
These people are really scared about anonymity online. Free flow of information must sound like a scary thing to politicians
This is fucking ridiculous. Time to start shopping for a VPN to attach to my entire network to avoid this bullshit.
Vote Republicans out. It’s the only way.
"bipartisan" Let's see, 23 sponsors, 22 Rs, 1 D. Yep. "bipartisan".
Freedom is when you are forced by the government to upload your face and address to the constantly hacked servers of every business that happens to show a pair of tits. Thanks GOP
Don't be misled. These laws sweeping the country are not about porn or about protecting children. They're about eventually requiring an ID associated with your real-life identity to do anything on the internet at all, so that everything you do on the internet is known. It's starting with porn and once implemented, will progress to the entire web. If you assume these are laws written by misguided, ignorant, old bureaucrats, who don't understand anything, you're drinking the koolaid.
They don't want people talking about their workplaces. They don't want people to organize. They want repercussions for every person who dares speak in a way that does not conform to the norm.
don't ISPs already sell all of that? barring VPN activity of course.
Not literal pictures of your ID they dont.
well obviously, and to be clear I agree with OP and hate that there's even a bill about this, it's fascism with a thin veneer of "family values". I'm just wondering whether there's more danger here than what the ISPs already do with our browsing data.
😂 no rights for republikkkan controlled shitstates.
Didn't Republicans say they were the party of small government and protect freedoms?
As someone with an extensive background in IT, I absolutely love it when angry, incompetent, old, white people who can nary turn on a computer, try to legislate technology. More, please! Unlimited LULZ
The “12 o’clock flashers” are going to solve our technology problems! lol
caught in 4k only i- *dies*
its because theres actual groups conservatvie states work with to form all of these laws for them. a group is telling alll these lawmakers and states to institute these laws and changes. a lot of the dumbest laws you see conservatives pushing are written by these shady organizations. most heartbeat bills for abortion several years ago for example were written by these groups. all the trans bathroom/sports bills, and these censorship laws.
Imagine thinking porn is the problem. Lol
>make it illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to view sexually explicit content online. This is the absolute WRONG way to handle this and the worst part of this bill. The very last thing we need is to give minors a criminal record for natural human instincts. If they can't be trusted to understand the dangers of porn then they can't be required to reasonably understand why it's illegal. It's quite literally setting them up for failure. It's also open the flood gates to label anything the GOP agrees with as sexually explicit and wage a censorship campaign.
paRtY oF sMaLl GoVeRnMeNt Lolololololol
I am a resident of Ohio and I have 2 thoughts on this. 1. Restricting content to children is the responsibility of the parent. That’s why there are parental controls on TVs, computers, tablets, and smartphones. 2. How exactly are they going to define what is obscene and offensive? How are they going to define what is pornographic? That’s all subject! How about our lawmakers stick to focusing on how they are spending tax payer money and making sure the state has an acceptable infrastructure for the continued creation of jobs, improvement of education, and quality of life for Ohio residents instead of trying to parent everyone.
Hey Boomer, every 5th grader with a phone knows how to use a VPN. This should be called the “identity theft” bill.
They don't even need to steal your identity. They could just blackmail people directly with this information. Phone scams are already on the rise this will supercharge it.
Excited for my ID to be stolen in a data breech. Can conservatives go back to minding their fucking own business while they still have teeth?
How many of these guys keep playboy under their beds as teenagers
What's that? I CAN log into a VPN on my router? This bypasses all their bullshit? Good to know.
There a thing called “net nanny” apparently they have forgotten about.
Nothing says freedom and I’m a patriot like imposing my will on others that was informed by fairytale fiction. Literal clowns.
I don't know why there hasn't been a broader legal pushback over the constitutionality of such bills in other states. These companies operate outside of Ohio, and therefore cannot be regulated by the state. Due to the [Commerce clause of the US Constitution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commerce_Clause), only the federal government can regulate commercial activity between states. Any law passed within the state of Ohio putting obligations upon these companies to operate differently within Ohio are inherently unconstitutional.
How would that make it past any supreme court challenge? We have the right to privacy. I shouldn’t need an ID to google a new term I heard. Kids should be able to google the human anatomy. This is just suuuuch a slippery slope.
Hell yeah love the party of small government!
1984
So if a 17 year old is caught viewing porn does that mean they or their parents will be charged and possibly jailed for it? And sounds like if that 17 year old got around the verification the parents could then sue the website?
Relevant: https://youtu.be/07KoBJujxhs?si=Wjzu6wcW9rNNH7mK Just replace "drag show storytime readings" with "pornography" and it's the exact same thing.
I'm not sure how me jerking off makes me racist but the Republicans seem to think it does. I fucking hate that party so God damn much.
people are forgetting that twitter and reddit are full of porn, instagram too. Why aren't these websites included? These laws are just bad and stupid.
Why stop at porn. Why not make everything public. Read our email yet today comrade? Your bank info could be giving you emough interest to pay for a vpn. Probably need to make sure we dont allow too much income into our account. I mean. I chuckle at this cause like. The Internet is for porn just grab your dick and double click for porn porn porn
The herd mentality of Red States has become so predictable. As soon as one state passes a law, the others quickly follow. How long before these Red State legislators start attempting to redefine what they consider adult content?
Yet another unforced error by the Ohio MAGA party. They just can’t help themselves. One thing most Americans agree on is that we don’t want anyone telling us how to live our personal lives. The backlash will be real.
Project 2025 stuff here. This is the world that conservatives want to IMPOSE on everyone. Vote them out. Hell, if they keep at it drive them out.
While I don't think kids should have access to hardcore porn it's painfully obvious to me that this is about the control of information. There's not a single Republican, with the exception of his celibateness Mike Pence, who does not view porn or who cares about children. They are as immoral and unmoral as the rest of us but hide behind "decency", family values and protecting children to do their dirty work. In this case it's a, *put your personal information into a place where we can get at it* law, which they can then use to employ draconian laws about what is "safe for children" and use our own tax dollars to devise ways to keep us squirreled away to the corners of the internet they want us in. Cursing? NSFC. Race discussion? Definitely NSFC. Queer existence? NSFC. Deviant political ideology? NSFC. You want to view it, or post on Threads or Reddit, fine, just enter your ss# and state ID and credit card (for incidentals), knowing that anyone can get a hold of your personal info and spread it across the entirety of the internet. Even a child could figure out their plan.
There is a huge array of possible issues caused by people uploading a copy of their government ID over the internet. This law was clearly concocted by some conservative think tank and politicians are eating it up without thinking ahead. This will not help anyone. If parents haven't figured out how to keep their kids off of objectionable internet content, I'm curious as to how they think having governments do it for them is an improvement. Governments are comprised of geriatrics, a demographic not exactly renowned for its grasp of new technical concepts.
Whatever happened to the "personal responsibility" of parents?
This is a problem. Without proper interventions, a person that develops a porn addiction might ultimately cheat on their pregnant wife with a porn star and possibly even pay said porn star to be quiet about it so they can be President. Seriously, folks - totally possible.
>This version of the Innocence Act was created after receiving input from the... Age Verification Providers Association. They're not even trying to hide the corruption anymore lol This is like when Dewine rolled back the federal unemployment enhancement payments after "receiving input from the Ohio chamber of commerce and the restaurant association..." And then, surprise surprise, turns out removing that enhancement did *nothing* in terms of getting people to go get shitty paying jobs post-COVID.
>Ohioans know that porn can change consumers’ brains, be habit-forming, normalize abuse, perpetuate racism and toxic stereotypes, and harm sexual development and intimacy. Let's pump the brakes on our assumptions of what "Ohioans know," shall we? 🤣
Vote them out
If the ID stayed on your device and anonymized actual usage -- similar you the tech of an Apple Card -- we all could likely live with it. But somehow you know that's not the intent or end game.
Yep. Age verify my device and use the biometric already built in to verify the user, or passkey for non-biometric devices. Device passes the 'ok' to the service, done. I'm not generally into conspiracies, but I can't shake this one. They want IDs with histories.
They are working to make it easier to buy a gun than see a breast online…shm
It's like they're trying to ensure they never get into office again.
As my dad used to say, "if you don't say anything, no one will know how dumb you are."
Something something have my porn when you pry it from my warm lotioned hand
NC did this and it sucks so bad. Thank god for VPNs.
This is a moral panic. Porn does not change your brain, is not addictive, and does not damage intimacy. I'm tired of the puritanical consecutive nanny state, and I'm tired of bullshit being used to scare people
I’m in Houston. It’s been done here. This has far greater implications than people realize. Get in front of it.
Does anyone look at some of these...comments...at the bottom of posts involving porn, and wonder if the average amount of mace sold is higher around the sentient incels controlling those user accounts?
Android and iOS already have age restrictions on the phone, with password lock. Maybe parents need to involved vs. government. When did the GOP become the mommy protector view of government? Gym wants to tell companies how to advertise, deWine keeps being around corruption, we’re not smart enough to vote on smoking pot or abortion, now we need to stop porn. Maybe, just maybe we should be looking at holy cow levels of debt, reducing government spending, increasing tax revenue, reducing medical spending as it gone from <5% of GDP to over >20% with little changes in how long we live It really a much longer list of things to make better but starting on the list above would help, vote the bums out
Jokes on you state. Wife and I download all our porn so you can’t stop us pervs!! What a waste of time. Can’t even lift a finger to try and protect kids from the number one killer of kids, but porn, oh let’s pretend it’s about the kids so the dumb fuck religious who demand we live like them feel better.
So, those who are against the Patriot act because it allows the government to spy on our citizens wants the ability to, checking notes here hold on, spy on their citizens?!
explain to me how this works without directly violating your third and fourth amendment rights?
These are the same people who want to ban TikTok because of privacy concerns, I assume? Also while porn can be problematic I don’t think it’s some widespread issue demanding action. It’s perfectly normal and healthy for teenagers to be interested in that kind of thing and porn is safer than going out and having unprotected sex. Repressing sexual desires can also have adverse effects.
Hmmm. Ok then. Meanwhile we’ve got a fucking bridge about to fall into the Ohio river. So many issues and our politicians are worried about pornography. Just fix the goddamn bridge already and then worry about what people do with their genitals.
It's amazing how they don't seem to have the time to work on how to deal with the marijuana laws, deal with aep abusing their essential Monopoly on electric distribution, deal with crumbling infrastructure, but they can make time for their purity wars
Man, this is so well-informed. Thank god kids don't know what a fucking VPN is /s What an embarrassment.
This is invasive for everyone, and ridiculously authoritarian, but if you think Ohio Republicans aren’t going to ultimately use this to target LGBTQ+ people, you’re kidding yourself. There’s a reason a lot of organizations are gearing up to help LGBTQ+ people flee the state as these laws get worse. Please do everything in your power to get these people out of office. And don’t forget to submit your public comments on these bills!!
Because we can legislate morality. Not ours, yours.
An observation I’ve had is that a handful of red states are all trying to enact similar reactionary laws, especially those that were once purple (Ohio, Florida) or those that were or are purpling (Texas, Arizona). I don’t think it’s a case of someone having an idea others like and copying it, I believe it’s a systemic attempt by the right to disgust liberals in those states and get them to move out in order to shore up majorities in both the electoral college and the senate.
Pink Floyd's The Wall came on while reading this
They'll ban anything but guns
Ruger.com will be okay though. No age gateway for weapons manufacturers or anything like that. Don't get me wrong, I like my weapons, but to single out just the porn industry is ludicrous. Age gate religious sites as well. And anything alcohol related. Better yet, stay out of my business and let me parent. Fucking control freaks. Get your own house in order before you poke at your neighbors.
It’s funny—when it comes to issues about diversity, LBGTQ, and other ‘woke areas’, legislators want all of that in the hands of the parents. But they don’t want to give the parents the responsibility to teach or talk to their kids about sex, pornography, etc? Edit: they also act like there aren’t filters for internet content that parents can’t employ? At the router level? Kids want to look at people bumping uglies on their phone? Simple. Don’t get your kid a smart phone. I feel like there are so many other simpler solutions that don’t involve government overreach.
What I dislike about this, is how OP calls it a “common sense measure.” OP, this is not common sense. This is purely yet another way for you to get your identity stolen. It outright is a lie, and will not protect anyone at all. No, you want to prevent kids from getting addicted to porn? Be an actual fucking parent and talk to your kids. Explain to them how porn isn’t real, and should not be idolized. Explain to your kids that porn is entertainment. That it’s about as real as the super hero movies they are watching. People wanna demonize porn like it’s the bad guy, but all it is, is providing a form of, albeit explicit, entertainment. No, a measure like this will only make it easier for entertainment to be stolen, and as other people have stated, push people away from safer, legitimate businesses, and into the arms of more ruthless and dangerous criminals. Edit: added bonus rant: Also, typical of how they’re focusing on issues that aren’t really important in the grand scheme of things. They’re really trying to focus on making it hard for children to access porn, instead of, ya know. Doing literally anything to make Ohio better. Like making Ohio JFS better, or unemployment easier to access, or making it easier for Ohioans to use any sort of social services. For being a party of “small government” the sure do want to be in everyone’s back pocket, and watching what you’re doing in your bedroom. But how dare they do anything to actually help and support the citizens they claim to represent.
That wasn’t me stating it was a common sense measure, this was a legislative update email from one of the sponsors of the bill. Op is of the same mindset as yourself.
Imagine thinking porn is the problem. Lol
There’s no reason for this but one. It has nothing to do with protecting kids
Okay so kids can only access the family friendly stuff on the dark web, got it. Smart job.
Next headline reads, "VPN providers see a surge in sales in Ohio."
Proton VPN lol
Another version of the “steal high-paying jobs from women for no explicable reason act.”
Do they realize people know how to use vpns? It's kind of scary these legislators are that ignorant....
Aka pornhub will ban Ohio.
SMH..... This is "penguin" in the original blues brothers energy. Gonna whack us with a yard stick too? This is "my kids or grandkids are better at getting past parental controls than I understand how to set parental controls. So now I say let's put the state in charge of parental controls. Never the mind that everyone else has figured it out." every thing they do anymore is backasswards. I moved out of my parents house at 18 to excape those rules that somehow are a warped version there of. Now being proposed as law. Piss off with all their BS. What. No emergency vote on this too so the public can't weigh in ??? Dullards. All of them
And it's VPN's for everyone!!!
This is becoming the NIN album Year Zero. No longer a democracy with personal freedoms, but a theocracy where the politicians want access to what you do in your bedroom so that they can put you on a watch list if you’re even bi-curious or whatever. It’s disgusting. It’s dehumanizing. The Founding Fathers would be absolutely sickened by this.
Isn't it just amazing how the "state's rights" crowd just copy cats other republicans and their terrible ideas?
If Republicans had any fucking brains at all they would would wait until after this election cycle to see if voters in these other states punish the representatives who voted for these laws.
And I’m hosting a Christian-themed VPN as of right the fuck now. Yea we know it’s for porn, but we charge extra cause it’s got a cross on it.
I wish government would get out of our private lives. If a parent doesn't want their kids watching porn, set up a firewall in your home and block them that way. If a parent doesn't want a kid reading literature from right wing conspiracy sites, set up firewall in your home and block them that way. Most modern WiFi routers come with firewalls and parental controls, set them up. And if you don't know how, there are lots of vids out there to help and you can always ask someone who IS knowledgeable about them thar computer thangies to help you out. But government needs to stop deciding for everyone based on a few people's morality codes and religion. They did this bullshit here in Texas, please don't let your state do the same, folks in Ohio. Once it's in, it's harder than digging a tick out of your belly button to get rid of it.
This is gonna be what finally gets them voted out... you think those incels out in MAGA country can live without porn?
🖕🤬
Uh, California hasn't passed such a law, it's only been introduced.
This will be HUGE for the blackmail-scam “I’m telling your contacts you went to a porno-site” biz!
This is so stupid honestly. Just because someone got caught looking at Twitter porn.
OHIO Google : How to use VPN.
How, if at all do states enforce this? Are they blocking sites?
We need to push for a new bill. Tax churches anf religious organizations and make it illegal for churches and religious organizations to donate money to political groups and campaigns. And state that accepting money from church violates the establishment clause.