Moral Police: In One State in the US, ID Required to Access Pornographic Sites

‘Under his eye’, could be the name of the new law that came into effect on January 1 in the American state of Louisiana. The law requires potential viewers of pornographic content on the internet to upload a copy of their official ID before accessing such sites, in order to verify their age. Residents are, to say the least, dissatisfied.

One user of such content told the portal Futurism that he discovered the new law quite by accident while trying to access adult content.

– I thought PornHub was hacked because why would they ask for my personal data – wondered the anonymous viewer.

However, he is not the only unfortunate one prevented from watching films. Many residents of this American state feel ‘naked’, but proponents of the law argue that children are excessively exposed to pornography which negatively affects them, and that anyone who tells the site they are over 18 must prove it.

Invasive Law

Laurie Schlegel, the author of the law, says that minors have unlimited access to pornography on the internet and that pornographic companies should be held accountable for this. The truth is that minors are constantly online and studies have shown that early exposure to pornography can negatively affect children’s mental and emotional health. However, even in that case, the bill raises alarm. Critics say it seems invasive and smells of a kind of state surveillance and moral policing more associated with totalitarian states like Iran or China than with the United States.

At the end of the day, does anyone want the government staring at the ‘crap’ being watched on the internet? Is anyone sure that this data will never leak and that someone won’t use it in the future for nefarious purposes like blackmail and the like?

The only representative in Louisiana who voted against the law, Mandie Landry, says that lawmakers claim they ‘do not keep all information, and will only check how old you are’. That’s crap, Landry told Futurism, adding that the state lacks the necessary resources for cybersecurity to ensure that pornographic data is never breached.

What About the Data?

Data is, after all, a dangerous thing. Although the state has made some vague promises about protecting user data, the age verification involves multiple third-party ‘vendors’. On Pornhub, for example, users are required to create an account on a mysterious site called Allpasstrust, which is linked to a state application for a digital wallet called LA Wallet where user ID information is stored. Although the Allpasstrust website promises to use individuals’ data only to approve or block access, all of this still seems weak and unconvincing.

One of the lawyers who spoke to Futurism says that ‘the law encounters existential questions of the First Amendment that could make it both unconstitutional and unenforceable’. Moreover, she says, there are already many perfectly effective parental control systems.

– There are many protections and programs that parents can put on phones and computers that do not encounter problems with the First Amendment, or issues with the commerce clause, or data breaches or overreach or anything else. This has simply gone way too far. There are many loopholes and negative angles – concluded the lawyer.

However, the law as such will allow crafty teenagers and other curious individuals to easily bypass it by hiding their location using VPNs, many of which are available for free. Additionally, the law contains provisions that further limit its effectiveness.

The law, for example, only applies to sites where more than one-third of the content is adult content. In other words, if a platform consists of 10 percent hardcore pornography and 90 percent nature documentaries, it is technically inappropriate. This is a stupid loophole in the law that means children can still find adult material on sites that have other types of content, like Reddit or Twitter.

Forbidden Fruit

It should also be noted that banning something only mystifies the subject of the ban and makes it more enticing and fascinating, especially to adolescents and children. In real life, experts recommend that parents proactively talk to their children about pornography, warning them of the dangers and downsides without inducing feelings of shame. Ultimately, the best way to combat this is likely through comprehensive sexual education. Again, at the end of the day, pornography has always existed and will continue to exist, and those who wanted it have always found ways to access it.