We've seen the wave of states that have fallen to regressive, draconian age verification laws of late. In a surprising turn of events, Arizona, the home of much controversial legislation, has knocked down a bill that would have enforced age verification on websites that contain 33% porn. Governor Katie Hobbs argues that the bill violates the first amendment. Advocacy groups applauded Hobbs' for her adamant stance against what she considers to be censorship.
The nonprofit free speech organization Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression wrote in a letter to Hobbs, urging her to veto the bill: "Requirements for age verification online — because they ultimately require identity verification — violate the right to anonymous speech. They chill the use of websites by security- and privacy-conscious people, and they pressure websites to shut down entirely."
Samantha Cole, 404Media
While she believes that children's safety online is a pressing issue, she doesn't believe that HB 2586 isn't the right was to go about it. But the children! Won't someone think of the children!
While we look for a solution, it should be bipartisan and work within the bounds of the First Amendment, which this bill does not.
Katie Hobbs
This is a shift in the right direction against the overbearing state of constant surveillance that we find ourselves battling on the regular. Is there some way to invest in VPNs routed towards Arizona?
Reading about this age verification hubbub has me thinking a lot about the ole censorship battles that Frank Zappa was engaged in against Tipper Gore way back in the day. FIGHT!
Maybe age verification and computer time should be left up to parents? And maybe we can consider adults to be adult enough to be in control of their own ability to watch porn, without having to upload their names, addresses, donor status, etc, to websites that look like they're in the business of manufacturing computer viruses.
Here's to you in porn watching solidarity. Or mindless scrolling on Twitter. Cheers.
Previously: Pornhub and other sites block Texas over age verification law
