Latest news with #InterstateObscenityDefinitionAct
USA Today
19-05-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Republicans appeal to morality with porn ban bill. Will it turn off their base?
Republicans appeal to morality with porn ban bill. Will it turn off their base? | Opinion For a party that, until recently, struggled to connect with younger voters, it's a risky move to send the message: 'We trust you with guns – but not with Google' Show Caption Hide Caption Can legislation combat the surge of nonconsensual deepfake porn? Deepfake porn is now targeting middle school and high schoolers. Lawmakers are trying to fight it. Are you worried about paying your bills? Affording health care? Or watching democracy crumble like a Nature Valley granola bar? Well, never fear, Utah Senator Mike Lee is here to protect you from the real threat: your incognito tab. Yes, Lee and fellow Republican Rep. Mary Miller's Interstate Obscenity Definition Act would criminalize all pornography. The bill would create a national definition of obscenity under the Communications Act of 1934 and amend the Supreme Court's 1973 "Miller Test" for determining what qualifies as obscene. Content could be deemed obscene if it depicts or describes "actual or simulated sexual acts with the objective intent to arouse, titillate or gratify the sexual desires of a person." That's a definition so wide it could sweep up a whole lot of HBO shows with it. Aiming at base instincts could target prime GOP base Beyond that glaringly wide net of a definition, this seems like just another virtue signaling culture war proposal that will never actually make it to President Donald Trump's desk. But, then again, who knows. One of Project 2025's many goals was to permanently criminalize all pornography. So if this legislation were to actually gain momentum, we could witness the GOP alienate one of its newly secured voting blocs: chronically online young men. Since the November 2024 election, the conversation about young men's shift to the right has been written about ad nauseum. So much so, "manosphere" is likely in the running for Webster's 2025 Word of the Year. Opinion: The left trashes men endlessly. It's no wonder they chose Trump. We know that young men helped elect Trump. They're enmeshed in online political discourse. And yes – many of them are consumers of exactly the content this bill targets. The modern right wing movement has spent years cultivating this audience: through podcasts, YouTube influencers, "anti-woke" crusades and appeals to grievance politics. These young men have been told, repeatedly, that their frustrations with feminism, social progress and a rapidly changing culture are valid – and that the right will fight for them. But this bill does the opposite. It tells them: You, too, are the problem. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. It's hard to overstate how deeply ingrained online adult content is in the digital ecosystem these voters inhabit. Platforms like OnlyFans, PornHub and other streaming sites have become – whether we like it or not – a major outlet for young men who feel disconnected from traditional relationships and left behind economically. Taking that away, without offering anything in its place, is a recipe for alienation and backlash. And it's not just about habits or personal freedom. This is a policy so extreme that it risks turning a culture war into a self-inflicted political wound. Banning all porn doesn't just raise enormous First Amendment concerns – it invites backlash from libertarians, moderates, and yes, the online foot soldiers of the "anti-woke" movement. Opinion: This liberal influencer calls Democrats 'smug, disinterested.' He's right. Moral posturing means we don't have to address real issues Instead of focusing on real issues – economic insecurity, mental health, loneliness, sex education – this proposal feels like a distraction. A symbolic gesture that ignores root causes in favor of moral posturing. There are serious debates to be had about online content, consent, exploitation and mental health. But making millions of Americans potential criminals for what they watch in the privacy of their homes isn't policy. It's performative politics. And for a party that, until recently, struggled to connect with younger voters, it's a risky move to send the message: "We trust you with guns – but not with Google." The question isn't whether porn is good or bad. The question is whether the government should be the arbiter of morality and obscenity in the digital age. And if the GOP insists on fighting that battle, they may find their greatest casualty isn't just the adult entertainment industry – it's part of their own voter base. Kristin Brey a columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where this column originally appeared.
Indianapolis Star
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
Pornhub is offline in Indiana. Republicans want to ban porn everywhere.
Are you worried about paying your bills? Affording health care? Or watching democracy crumble like a Nature Valley granola bar? Well, never fear, Utah Sen. Mike Lee is here to protect you from the real threat: your incognito tab. Yes, Lee and fellow Republican Rep. Mary Miller's Interstate Obscenity Definition Act would criminalize all pornography. Opinion: As Pornhub exits Indiana, online porn is still easy to find The bill would create a national definition of obscenity under the Communications Act of 1934 and amend the Supreme Court's 1973 'Miller Test' for determining what qualifies as obscene. Content could be deemed obscene if it depicts or describes 'actual or simulated sexual acts with the objective intent to arouse, titillate or gratify the sexual desires of a person.' That's a definition so wide it could sweep up a whole lot of HBO shows with it. Beyond that glaringly wide net of a definition, this seems like just another virtue signaling culture war proposal that will never actually make it to President Trump's desk. But, then again, who knows. One of Project 2025's many goals was to permanently criminalize all pornography. So if this legislation were to actually gain momentum, we could witness the GOP alienate one of its newly secured voting blocs: chronically online young men. Since the November 2024 election, the conversation about young men's shift to the right has been written about ad nauseum. So much so, 'manosphere' is likely in the running for Webster's 2025 Word of the Year. We know that young men helped elect Trump. They're enmeshed in online political discourse. And yes — many of them are consumers of exactly the content this bill targets. The modern right wing movement has spent years cultivating this audience: through podcasts, YouTube influencers, 'anti-woke' crusades and appeals to grievance politics. These young men have been told, repeatedly, that their frustrations with feminism, social progress and a rapidly changing culture are valid — and that the right will fight for them. But this bill does the opposite. It tells them: You, too, are the problem. It's hard to overstate how deeply ingrained online adult content is in the digital ecosystem these voters inhabit. Platforms like OnlyFans, PornHub and other streaming sites have become — whether we like it or not — a major outlet for young men who feel disconnected from traditional relationships and left behind economically. Taking that away, without offering anything in its place, is a recipe for alienation and backlash. And it's not just about habits or personal freedom. This is a policy so extreme that it risks turning a culture war into a self-inflicted political wound. Banning all porn doesn't just raise enormous First Amendment concerns — it invites backlash from libertarians, moderates, and yes, the online foot soldiers of the 'anti-woke' movement. Instead of focusing on real issues — economic insecurity, mental health, loneliness, sex education — this proposal feels like a distraction. A symbolic gesture that ignores root causes in favor of moral posturing. There are serious debates to be had about online content, consent, exploitation and mental health. But making millions of Americans potential criminals for what they watch in the privacy of their homes isn't policy. It's performative politics. Opinion: Trump secured the border. Legal battles distract from his success. And for a party that, until recently, struggled to connect with younger voters, it's a risky move to send the message: 'We trust you with guns— but not with Google.' The question isn't whether porn is good or bad. The question is whether the government should be the arbiter of morality and obscenity in the digital age. And if the GOP insists on fighting that battle, they may find their greatest casualty isn't just the adult entertainment industry — it's part of their own voter base.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Some Republicans Want To Make Pornography A Federal Crime, And People Immediately Pulled Out The Ted Cruz Jokes
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) reintroduced a bill earlier this month that would broadly redefine what content can be classified as 'obscenity' in an attempt to criminalize pornography, a move that's drawn comparisons to the right-wing initiative Project 2025. 'Obscenity isn't protected by the First Amendment, but hazy and unenforceable legal definitions have allowed extreme pornography to saturate American society and reach countless children,' Lee said in a May 8 release introducing the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act. Related: People Who Voted For Trump Are Getting Very Honest About Donald Trump's Latest Truth Social Post Lee's bill has striking parallels to Project 2025, an initiative from the conservative Heritage Foundation that laid out policy blueprints for President Donald Trump's second term. Despite Trump's attempts to distance himself from Project 2025, he has placed key architects of the project into influential positions in the federal government. In the 920-page playbook, the Heritage Foundation claimed pornography 'has no claim to First Amendment protection' and should be outlawed, MSNBC reported. 'The people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned. Educators and public librarians who purvey it should be classed as registered sex offenders. And telecommunications and technology firms that facilitate its spread should be shuttered,' text from Project 2025 reads. Lee's bill would broaden the legal definition of 'obscenity,' which is not protected by the First Amendment, to any material that 'appeals to the prurient interest' in nudity or sex, 'depicts, describes or represents' sexual acts and 'taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.' Any content that lawmakers feel meets the criteria could be defined as obscenity, meaning its transmission across state lines, including on the internet, could be criminalized under federal law. The bill's definition of obscenity is 'so broad' that it could apply to media like the HBO Max show Game of Thrones, Ricci Joy Levi, president of the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, told Reason. Related: Donald Trump Was Completely Stumped By A Simple World Cup Question, And His Response Is Exactly What You'd Expect In an MSNBC op-ed, Jacob Mchangama and Ashken Kazaryan of the Vanderbilt University think tank The Future of Free Speech argued that the bill has implications that go way beyond pornography. 'It empowers the federal government to police speech based on subjective values,' they wrote. 'When lawmakers try to enforce the beliefs of some Americans at the expense of others' rights, they cross a constitutional line — and put the First Amendment at risk.' This is the second time Lee has introduced the bill. The legislation was first introduced in 2022, but failed to pass. Mike Stabile of the Free Speech Coalition, a nonprofit, non-partisan trade association for the adult industry, told Vice at the time that the organization saw the bill as a threat. 'Our members understand this for what it is: It's a threat to their business, to their livelihood. It's a threat to their community,' Stabile said. The bill's co-lead in the House is Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.), who said in the announcement that the legislation would 'equip law enforcement with the tools they need to target and remove obscene material from the internet.' While critics of the legislation see it as a serious danger, many on the internet are making fun of the bill, some by recalling the time Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) liked a hardcore porn video on Twitter. @morgfair / @leftcoastbabe / X / Via @NoLieWithBTC / @chrisjollyhale / X / Via This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Also in In the News: "We Went From 'Lower The Price Of Eggs' To 'Lower Your Standard Of Living'": 39 Of The Best, Most Brutal, And Very Relatable Political Tweets Of The Month Also in In the News: A Republican's Response To A "Tax The Rich" Chant At His Town Hall Is Going Viral Also in In the News: "We Don't Import Food": 31 Americans Who Are Just So, So Confused About Tariffs And US Trade
Buzz Feed
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Buzz Feed
Pornography Would Become A Federal Crime Under GOP Bill
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) reintroduced a bill earlier this month that would broadly redefine what content can be classified as 'obscenity' in an attempt to criminalize pornography, a move that's drawn comparisons to the right-wing initiative Project 2025. 'Obscenity isn't protected by the First Amendment, but hazy and unenforceable legal definitions have allowed extreme pornography to saturate American society and reach countless children,' Lee said in a May 8 release introducing the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act. Lee's bill has striking parallels to Project 2025, an initiative from the conservative Heritage Foundation that laid out policy blueprints for President Donald Trump's second term. Despite Trump's attempts to distance himself from Project 2025, he has placed key architects of the project into influential positions in the federal government. In the 920-page playbook, the Heritage Foundation claimed pornography 'has no claim to First Amendment protection' and should be outlawed, MSNBC reported. 'The people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned. Educators and public librarians who purvey it should be classed as registered sex offenders. And telecommunications and technology firms that facilitate its spread should be shuttered,' text from Project 2025 reads. Lee's bill would broaden the legal definition of 'obscenity,' which is not protected by the First Amendment, to any material that 'appeals to the prurient interest' in nudity or sex, 'depicts, describes or represents' sexual acts and 'taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.' Any content that lawmakers feel meets the criteria could be defined as obscenity, meaning its transmission across state lines, including on the internet, could be criminalized under federal law. The bill's definition of obscenity is 'so broad' that it could apply to media like the HBO Max show Game of Thrones, Ricci Joy Levi, president of the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, told Reason. HBO In an MSNBC op-ed, Jacob Mchangama and Ashken Kazaryan of the Vanderbilt University think tank The Future of Free Speech argued that the bill has implications that go way beyond pornography. 'It empowers the federal government to police speech based on subjective values,' they wrote. 'When lawmakers try to enforce the beliefs of some Americans at the expense of others' rights, they cross a constitutional line — and put the First Amendment at risk.' This is the second time Lee has introduced the bill. The legislation was first introduced in 2022, but failed to pass. Mike Stabile of the Free Speech Coalition, a nonprofit, non-partisan trade association for the adult industry, told Vice at the time that the organization saw the bill as a threat. 'Our members understand this for what it is: It's a threat to their business, to their livelihood. It's a threat to their community,' Stabile said. The bill's co-lead in the House is Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.), who said in the announcement that the legislation would 'equip law enforcement with the tools they need to target and remove obscene material from the internet.' While critics of the legislation see it as a serious danger, many on the internet are making fun of the bill, some by recalling the time Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) liked a hardcore porn video on Twitter.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Porn would become crime under Republican proposal
(NewsNation) — A new bill introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) could make porn a crime in the United States. The Interstate Obscenity Definition Act would add all pornography, including any depiction of sexual acts that 'lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value,' to the definition of obscenity. This would make it illegal to distribute or consume porn, regardless of the material's intent. Currently, only porn intended to 'abuse, threaten, or harass' someone is illegal. Diddy threatened to blackmail Cassie with 'Freak Off' videos: Testimony Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) who also had a hand in the new proposal, said it would 'equip law enforcement with the tools they need to target and remove obscene material from the internet, which is alarmingly destructive and far outside the bounds of protected speech under the Constitution.' The proposed act would define 'obscenity' as content that: Appeals to an excessive amount of interest in nudity or sex Shows or describes real or fake sexual acts Lacks scientific, political, artistic or literary value The act would also remove 'the 'intent' requirement that only prohibits the transmission of obscenity for the purposes [of] abusing, threatening or harassing a person,' according to a release from Lee's office. The Interstate Obscenity Definition Act would, in effect, widen the scope of obscenity defined by Supreme Court cases Jacobellis v. Ohio and Miller v. California, which helped shape the current American definition of the word. Former Colleton County clerk of court arrested on felony charges Thomas C. Arthur, with Emory University School of Law, wrote about the potential problems that could arise from banning 'obscene material' in the Emory Law Journal. In his paper, he wrote: 'First, 'obscene' pornography is difficult, if not impossible, to define satisfactorily under basic First Amendment principles … The current definition does not come close to reaching the materials that allegedly corrupt the moral tone of society, the health of relationships and family life, and the status of women.' $1M in cocaine seized at Texas border crossing Arthur also believes that banning porn could lead to freedom of expression being restricted overall. Lee says obscenity isn't protected under the First Amendment and adds that some legal definitions has put 'extreme pornography' within the reach of children: 'Our bill updates the legal definition of obscenity for the internet age so this content can be taken down.' The law was pushed by Project 2025, a conservative policy plan that had been written before President Donald Trump's second term. Project 2025, which is over 900 pages, reportedly stated that 'pornography should be outlawed.' It also said that 'the people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned,' and companies that 'facilitate its spread should be shuttered.' Cassie testified she became opioid dependent after Diddy's 'Freak Offs' Adult industry attorney Corey D. Silverstein spoke with Mashable about the proposed law. He said, 'It may as well be an outright ban on pornography.' Ricci Levy, president and CEO of the sexual freedom nonprofit Woodhull Freedom Foundation, told Mashable that if 'you look at the broad picture of censorship that's going on,' it appears legislators are trying to turn Project 2025's policy proposals into law. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
