Latest news with #PornHub
Bloomberg
5 days ago
- General
- Bloomberg
PornHub Among Adult Sites Probed by EU on Child Safety Fears
The European Union has started a probe into adult video platforms PornHub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos based on concerns over child protection. The EU's executive arm opened formal proceedings that alleged the four websites failed to take actions to protect minors from accessing pornography, including the use of age-verification mechanisms, required by the Digital Services Act. The European Commission said in a statement Tuesday that it will collect evidence and responses from the companies over the next few months.
Newsweek
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
New Bill Could Ban Pornography Across US
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A new bill introduced by Utah Senator Mike Lee, a Republican, would create a federal ban on pornography by redefining what qualifies as "obscene" under law. The legislation, called the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act (IODA), seeks to modernize the standard for prosecuting explicit content online, replacing a decades-old test established by the Supreme Court. Newsweek has contacted the proponents of the bill for more information on the legislation via email. Why It Matters If passed, IODA could dramatically change how sexual content is treated under federal law, especially in online spaces. The bill proposes stripping the "intent" requirement from the current Communications Act of 1934, meaning individuals could face prosecution for sharing or hosting content deemed to be sexually explicit and lacking "serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value." What To Know The bill, introduced on Thursday, is co-sponsored by Illinois Representative Mary Miller, another Republican, and represents the third attempt by Lee to pass such legislation since 2022. The legislation would revise the obscenity standard that authorities have used since the Supreme Court's 1973 Miller vs. California decision, which critics say is outdated and difficult to enforce, especially in the digital age. The Miller Test, named after the 1973 decision, currently includes three criteria: whether the average person would find the work appeals to prurient interest, whether it depicts sexual conduct in an offensive way, and whether it lacks value. The age-restriction warning screen of the website PornHub is displayed on two digital screens. The age-restriction warning screen of the website PornHub is displayed on two digital screens. Getty Images In place of that test, the new bill's definition of obscenity would now include any content that "appeals to the prurient interest in nudity, sex, or excretion," and "depicts, describes or represents actual or simulated sexual acts with the objective intent to arouse." If passed, the bill would pave the way for the prosecution of obscene content disseminated across state lines or from foreign countries and open the door to federal restrictions or bans regarding online pornography. It would broaden what kinds of explicit content may be considered a federal crime, potentially criminalizing large amounts of adult content, including consensual expressions of sexuality. What People Are Saying In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Utah Senator Mike Lee said: "Obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment. But hazy, unenforceable definitions have allowed pornography companies to infect our society, peddle smut to children, and do business across state lines unimpeded. "Today I introduced the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act with Representative Mary Miller, establishing a comprehensive definition of obscene materials under federal law. "This is a first and necessary step to stopping the people and companies that profit from degrading their fellow human beings and ruining countless lives." What Happens Next Congress will consider the legislation this month, though it is not clear if it will receive bipartisan support.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Proposed Ohio law would require age verification before viewing porn
Apr. 23—The Ohio Senate will soon consider a House-passed initiative that would add Ohio to a growing list of states that require porn sites to either verify the age of their users or face legal consequences. If it becomes law, Ohioans would be subject to uploading photos of themselves or personal transaction data before accessing content on pornographic websites. Other states that have passed similar legislation have seen popular sites like PornHub suspend service within state borders. The House-passed provision was folded into the chamber's draft of the state's operating budget, which sets about $60 billion in state spending over the next two years and includes hundreds of separate legislative provisions. A House document explains that the provision would require any organization "that sells, delivers, furnishes, disseminates, provides, exhibits, or presents any material or performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles" to use "reasonable" age verification methods before users can access content. "(It's) a policy that I think has wide support in the caucus," Ohio House Finance Chair Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, told reporters earlier this month. "I think, frankly, a lot of people believe that if you're going to have obscene material on the internet, we should at least make sure that those who are not legally allowed to view it are not viewing it." In practice, "reasonable" methods of age verification could include photo identification or private or public "transactional data," which could include mortgage, educational and employment records, according to the bill text. Stewart said the House's provision differs slightly from other proposals that have stalled in the Statehouse, mainly in that the law wouldn't create private rights of action. Instead, it would empower the Ohio Attorney General to step in. "If we have websites in the state of Ohio that are egregiously violating the law, we're going to give the attorney general the ability to file for injunctive relief," Stewart said. Similar proposals, including the House Bill 84 currently in committee, have garnered levels of bipartisan support from Ohio lawmakers. The Ohio Senate will consider the provision and the rest of the House's draft budget when it begins budget deliberations later this month. Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, has not yet commented on the age-verification plan. ------ For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It's free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening. Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
South China Morning Post
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Meet Angela White, the ‘Meryl Streep' of the adult film world: the 40-year-old Aussie's videos were viewed 1.5 billion times in 2024, and she picked up 5 gongs at the recent AVN Awards
Angela White was recently revealed as the most popular adult entertainment star in PornHub's 2024 Year in Review report, per the New York Post. Angela White hails from Australia. Photo: @theangelawhite/Instagram The Aussie – who has been described as the ' Meryl Streep of pornography' – had accumulated a whopping 1.5 billion video views. 'Like many people, I found out when reading PornHub's '2024 in review' report,' she told the news outlet. 'It was a super-exciting surprise. It is great to know that my content is being sought out organically and resonating with fans.' Advertisement Angela White was PornHub's most-searched actress last year. Photo: @theangelawhite/Instagram She said that she was honoured to have topped the list and gave an idea of what to expect from her in the coming year. 'PornHub has one of the largest audiences on the internet, and there are a lot of great performers and adult creators distributing their work on the platform, so being the most searched is a huge honour,' she noted. 'What keeps me going? I absolutely love what I do. That's it. If you really love what you do, you'll wake up earlier, stay up later, and work harder every day,' she said. She added that she wanted to improve her content in the coming months. 'But I can say with certainty that 2025 will have the same objectives as every year: improve as a performer; improve as a producer/director; and deliver as much value to my fans as possible,' said the 40-year-old. So who is she? Angela White is an Australian adult entertainment star Angela White says she 'absolutely loves' her job. Photo: @theangelawhite/Instagram Angela White has featured in explicit content since she was 18, according to LadBible.
Local France
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Local France
France extends age verification measures to porn giants
France introduced rules in January that required all French porn websites and those based outside the European Union to introduce a mechanism to check the age of users. This was extended with a decree published Thursday that widens the measures to companies based in the European Union, meaning Cyprus-based PornHub and YouPorn as well as Hungary-based Jacquie et Michel. France's culture ministry said the move will "at last enable us to block minors from accessing the most-visited porngraphic websites in France", calling it "a major advance in the protection of our children and adolescents." Successive governments have battled for years to find ways to stop young people viewing online pornography while balancing the right to privacy of adult users. Age verification can be done with a credit card or by sending an identity document, but websites are also required to offer at least one "double blind" option for users to prove their age without revealing their identity. This entails the user uploading an identity document to a service provider, which then sends confirmation they are old enough to visit the site to the porn provider without revealing the user's identity. Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub, has said it will comply with the law but has warned that the rules would likely prove "ineffective" and "dangerous" for users' security and privacy. It argues that under-age internet users could be sent to other less regulated and more extreme areas of the internet. A 2023 report by French senators entitled "Hell Behind the Scenes" concluded that there was "massive, ordinary and toxic" viewing of porn by children, as well as routinely violent content. The report found that two thirds of children aged 15 or less had seen pornographic content.
