Global War on Porn
French Court Sets July Date to Decide Whether to Block Adult Sites
The Paris Judicial Tribunal held a hearing earlier this month with representatives from five of the most visited adult tube sites in France, and set itself a July 7 deadline to decide whether to order internet service providers in the country to block access to those sites.
German Police Ramp Up Plan to Eliminate All Explicit Content From Twitter
German police have been targeting and intimidating specific Twitter users who post or retweet explicit material, in an attempt to move forward local bureaucrat Tobias Schmid’s campaign to purge all open platforms of adult content.
Pope Francis: 'Those Who Use Pornography Are Diminished as Humans'
A propagandistic documentary currently streaming on Disney+ and Hulu, showing Pope Francis speaking to young people, features a full segment in which an adult content creator tells the head of the Catholic Church about her positive experience with sex work.
Australia's Top Censor Submits Secret 'Road Map' on Age Verification
Top censor and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, who has acknowledged having conversations with U.S.-based, religiously-inspired anti-porn lobby NCOSE, submitted to the Australian government on Friday a road map to implement age verification for “online pornographic sites.”
Australia's Labor Government Touts Censorship Reform
The Australian government yesterday released a review of the nation’s content rating system for audiovisual material and games, proposing an end to the country’s censorship of certain fetishes and some instances of violence in pornography.
German Police Threaten Creators, Scholars for Posting Adult Content on Twitter
German police have been threatening adult content creators with criminal charges for posting explicit videos and images on Twitter.
'MindGeek Has a Responsibility to Lead by Example': An Interview With Solomon Friedman, Partner at New Owner ECP
Solomon Friedman, partner and VP at Ethical Capital Partners (ECP), the Canadian private equity firm whose purchase of MindGeek was made public yesterday, gave an exclusive interview to XBIZ today.
Indonesian Police Arrest, Publicly Shame 2 Women for Camming
West Jakarta police arrested and publicly shamed two young Indonesian women for nude camming earlier this week, charging them with pornography.
Retired Italian Performer Wins Employment Discrimination Lawsuit
A judge has ordered an Italian university to pay 4,000 euros ($4,290) to a prestigious academic after dismissing him, an action he alleged was prompted by his former career as an adult performer.
Vice Report Eviscerates UK MP's Anti-Porn Propaganda Report
Vice this week published an article criticizing a report by the U.K.’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Commercial Sexual Exploitation (APPG-CSE), which repeated anti-porn myths and recommended a state crackdown on sexual expression online.
U.K. M.P.s Report Rehashes Anti-Porn Myths, Recommends Crackdown
The U.K.’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Commercial Sexual Exploitation (APPG-CSE) today released a report repeating myths and stereotypes peddled by anti-porn activists and recommending a wide-ranging state crackdown on sexual expression online.
France Aims to Expand Age Verification to Social Media Platforms
The Culture Committee of France’s National Assembly voted last week to expand age verification requirements already mandated for adult content to include several popular mainstream social media platforms.
Influential UK Journalist Advocates Outlawing Adult Content, Jailing Producers
Influential British journalist Jenni Murray published an extremist tirade in the Daily Mail last week, advocating for all adult content to be made illegal and for the imprisonment of its producers and distributors.
France to Require Government Certificate to View Adult Content Online
France’s Minister for Digital Affairs confirmed yesterday that a government-issued “digital certificate” certifying the person’s age will be necessary to view all adult content on line starting in September.
Iceland's Pirate Party MPs Move to Overturn Outdated Porn Ban
Iceland is currently debating a draft bill introduced by two members of the Pirate Party to overturn the total ban on pornography in the North Atlantic nation.
Russia Authorizes State Censors to Block All Gay, Lesbian and Trans Porn
The Russian government published Monday a decree granting censorship powers to the state media regulator to block any websites containing “LGBT propaganda,” a definition that includes all gay, lesbian and trans adult content.
Canada: Senator Forces Age Verification Measure Targeting 'Sexual Activity' Depictions
A Canadian senator and anti-porn crusader who has collaborated with religiously motivated U.S. conservative groups has inserted a controversial amendment into a pending bill, requiring platforms to enact age verification systems if they allow any depictions of sexual content.
Russia Outlaws All Gay, Lesbian and Trans Porn
Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday signed explicitly homophobic legislation banning public expression of LGBTQ identity — termed “propaganda about nontraditional sexual relations” — including all adult content featuring gay, lesbian and trans sexualities.
UK's Online Safety Bill Remains Mired in Conceptual Chaos
The Tory government led by Rishi Sunak has reintroduced the Online Safety Bill, which has now been amended to remove some of the language that would have forced platforms to censor content the government termed “legal but harmful.”
Sex Toys Banned at the 2022 Qatar Soccer World Cup
Days before the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the U.K.’s Foreign Office and state departments around the world are reminding traveling soccer fans about the country’s strict morality laws, including a blanket ban on sex toys.