Prurient
Arkansas Age Verification Bill Amended Over Confusing Language
The Arkansas House approved yesterday an amendment to SB 66, a Republican bill that would require age verification before “entering a website offering pornography,” over confusing language.
Republicans Across the Country Continue Efforts to Redefine 'Prurient' Content
Republicans across the nation continue their ongoing campaign to legally redefine “prurient” — along with other terms like “obscenity,” “pornography” and “harmful to minors” — through diverse pieces of state legislation concerning topics such as online age verification, the purchase of library materials and the zoning of venues allowing drag shows.
Republican's Anti-Drag Bill Redefining 'Prurient' Passes Montana House
The Montana House has endorsed a Republican bill aimed at restricting drag shows, which includes a legal redefinition of the term “prurient” as “having a tendency to excite lustful thoughts.”
West Virginia Republican Seeks to Redefine 'Obscene' and 'Prurient'
A controversial West Virginia state senator introduced this month two bills attempting to redefine “obscene matter” and “prurient interest” in the state, in an effort to censor sexual content.
Republicans Move Forward With Redefinition of 'Prurient Interest' in Arkansas
Democratic state senators and LGBTQ+ advocates in Arkansas are raising concerns that a proposed bill targeting drag performances would limit the rights of transgender people and also redefine the legal concept of “prurient interest,” which is at the core of recent Republican attempts to reinstate obscenity prosecutions.
Republicans Introduce 'Age Verification' Bill in Arkansas
Two Republican state senators in Arkansas introduced a bill this week requiring age verification before “entering a website offering pornography.”
Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee Introduces Bill to Outlaw All Porn Nationwide
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) this week introduced the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act, a bill that nominally aims to “establish a national definition of obscenity” but which would, in effect, outlaw all online sexual content nationwide.
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft Steps Up Crusade Against 'Salacious Pornography'
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has clashed with the St. Louis County Public Library as he pursues his current campaign against what he calls “materials that appeal to the prurient interest of any minor.”
Florida Seeking to Redefine Sex Censorship Language
The Republican-run state government of Florida is stepping up efforts to redefine legal and policy terminology in a campaign to censor free speech concerning sexuality.
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft Seeks to Redefine 'Smut'
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft this week attempted to clarify his proposed ban on funding for what he called “prurient” library books, by explaining that he meant “smut.”
Virginia: Judge Rules Novelty Flag Is 'Obnoxious but Not Obscene'
A dispute between Virginia neighbors morphed into an obscenity trial after a Fauquier County farmer hung a flag reading “Eat a Giant Bag of Dicks” under a picture of a unicorn giving two middle fingers.
Federal Oversight Officer Claims Adult Businesses 'Ineligible' for Relief Loans
The chief bureaucrat behind a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), a federal oversight agency, has endorsed the controversial claim that “adult entertainment” businesses are “not allowed to be funded” under Small Business Administration (SBA) programs.
Strip Clubs Challenge 'Prurient' Loan Discrimination in Court
A group of strip club owners in Pennsylvania, California, New Jersey, South Carolina and Maryland are suing the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) in a Pennsylvania federal court over their discriminatory policy classifying sex-oriented businesses as “prurient” and preventing them from receiving COVID relief.
Czech Supreme Court Upholds Fines for 'Gratuitous Nudity' in Ads
The Czech Supreme Administrative Court (NSS) ruled last month that the “gratuitous” use of images of the naked or “almost naked” female body in advertising for unrelated products constitutes discrimination in the Central European country.
California COVID Relief Grants Still Exclude 'Prurient' Businesses
The California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) yesterday began distributing the sixth and final round of COVID relief business grants, but the application still includes a “prurient clause” which discourages adult businesses from applying.
'Save Our Stages' Relief Bill May Exclude Strip Clubs Through 'Prurient' Clause
Application for relief under the Save Our Stages Act — designed to subsidize live entertainment venues and businesses affected by the months-long COVID-19 shutdown and incorporated into the $900 billion stimulus bill Congress sent to President Donald Trump for signing today — includes the standard Small Business Administration (SBA)’s discriminatory language that allows disqualification of adult-oriented businesses like strip clubs.
SBA Loans Expert Pens Op-Ed Against Arbitrary 'Prurient' Clause
Attorney Derek Adams, an expert on Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, has penned an op-ed arguing that the SBA “can and should refrain from applying its ineligibility rules" — including the so-called “prurient clause” that discriminates against sexually oriented businesses — at the time of loan forgiveness.
Netflix Co-CEO Questions Texas Prosecution for 'Prurient' Content
Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos spoke at the virtual edition of content trade show Mipcom today, and he expressed his surprise at the fact that “we’re having a discussion about censoring storytelling” in 2020 America, after an East Texas grand jury last week voted to indict the streaming network on felony obscenity charges.
Texas Grand Jury Reportedly Indicts Netflix Over 'Prurient' Content
A Texas grand jury has reportedly indicted California streaming company Netflix, alleging that one of the films distributed via the service presents material “which appeals to the prurient interest in sex and has no serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”
West Coast Clubs Join Legal Battle Against SBA Over 'Prurient Clause'
A group of West Coast strip clubs have asked a California federal judge to grant them a preliminary injunction preventing the Small Business Administration (SBA) from discriminating against them by applying the “prurient clause” written into COVID-19 relief loan applications.