PornHub and Carol Blood

Senator Knows Technology

The conflict over culture between the left and the right can be quite annoying. Too often the conflict is between two very different lifestyles and approaches to problems. LB 1092 was passed by the Nebraska Unicameral and requires internet sites offering pornography to verify the age of users. While the intentions are good, it will have no impact at all on the vast amount of pornography on the internet. Easy politics but easily evaded due to ignorance. Those who disagree have no idea what the capacity of the internet is or how it functions. 

First, the internet was designed to evade such laws and prevent information from disappearing. The whole purpose of the internet is to promote the exchange of information in spite of government censorship by making communication anonymous. Yes, the Federal Government may not like it but they are paddling a boat upstream. Julian Assange and Edward Snowden are not the only ones to know this.

Second, PornHub’s decision to block Nebraska users is not a defeat for them but a tactic (https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/06/20/pornhub-intends-to-ban-nebraska-users-after-passage-of-lb-1092/). By blocking Nebraskans, they expose Nebraskans to the lack of internet privacy they have. In doing so, Nebraskans will become more interested in Virtual Privacy Networks known as VPN (https://protonvpn.com/) as well as alternative web browsers such as TOR and others (https://beencrypted.com/privacy/anonymous-browsing/best-tor-alternatives/). 

Third, there really needs to be more discussion as to what pornography does to males. Three conflicts occur: brains versus biological urges, reality versus fantasy, and long term relations versus short term orgasms. Unfortunately, there really is not much discussion of such conflicting matters.

Fourth, there has been much discussion about screen time and social media and what minors should access. Yes, you can scan your kid’s phone or you can buy a dumb phone (https://protonvpn.com/), a phone without the apps, or add parental controls (https://www.bark.us/) but I think this is a bit short-sighted. What families and communities need more of is people time. This means shutting off all the electronic devices, especially the television set. Families need jigsaw puzzles, board games, offline hobbies, cards, marbles, sports, camping, and so forth, to foster discussion and learning how people interact in person. Unfortunately, people are addicted to television and passively get sucked into it all. What television does to the elderly is just as bad as what social media does to youth. 

Fifth, the argument PornHub is making has to do with where the age verification is taking place. Instead of websites being responsible for age verification, they recommend age-verification at the device level (https://www.xbiz.com/news/281228/opinion-why-device-based-age-verification-is-the-key-to-protecting-minors-online). This makes sense to some degree. You can see the video on the topic here

But no mention is made of what happens when a person becomes an adult. Buy a new device?