The most potent weapon that sex work prohibitionists wield in their war on porn is the false narrative that pornography cannot be separated from child sexual abuse. But in fact porn websites are just a convenient scapegoat for the problem of child sexual abuse material online, just as sex workers have become scapegoats for child sex trafficking. While image-based abuse is a real problem, a “war on porn” is not the solution. Using child protection as the pretext for this war is dishonest, and it harms sex workers, survivors, and children themselves.
The most potent weapon that sex work prohibitionists wield in their war on porn is the false narrative that pornography cannot be separated from child sexual abuse. But in fact porn websites are just a convenient scapegoat for the problem of child sexual abuse material online, just as sex workers have become scapegoats for child sex trafficking. While image-based abuse is a real problem, a “war on porn” is not the solution. Using child protection as the pretext for this war is dishonest, and it harms sex workers, survivors, and children themselves.
No Internet company or website operator wants to allow its platform to be used to distribute child sexual abuse material (CSAM). But especially for smaller operators, it has been difficult to access the resources needed to filter out this material quickly and automatically. In 2019, only a dozen of the largest tech companies were responsible for 99% of the abuse images reported to NCMEC (the federal government’s appointed clearinghouse for CSAM reporting). In the past year, this has begun to change as new systems have been brought online to bring CSAM filtering to a broader base of Internet platforms.
In…
Agents of the deep state are using their control of politicians and the media to bury the truth about pedophilia and sex trafficking. QAnon conspiracy theory or fact? You may be surprised to learn that it’s a bit of both.
Although the beliefs of QAnons may seem wild, there is a kernel of truth underlying them. The deep state? It’s not a brotherhood of Satanic pedophiles, but it does exist. Political scientists use this term to refer to governing institutions that persist across changes of elected leadership, and have the power to form and pursue their goals autonomously. Mike Lofgren…
With the Senate back in session this week, today saw the introduction of a new law dedicated towards addressing child sexual exploitation: the Invest in Child Safety Act. Sponsored by Senator Ron Wyden and four Democratic colleagues, the law is offered as an alternative to the EARN IT Act, which experts had criticized for placing too much responsibility on Internet companies to address this problem. …
With the Senate back in session this week, today saw the introduction of a new law dedicated towards addressing child sexual exploitation: the Invest in Child Safety Act. Sponsored by Senator Ron Wyden and four Democratic colleagues, the law is offered as an alternative to the EARN IT Act, which experts had criticized for placing too much responsibility on Internet companies to address this problem. …
In February 2019, Reddit outlawed the “lolicon” and “shotacon” styles of Japanese manga art, by way of a complete ban on sexually suggestive artistic images of anyone “who appears to be a minor.” Since then, other putative free speech platforms have followed suit, including GAB (known for its alt-right leanings), and most recently 8kun, the rebirth of 8chan (which gained unfortunate notoriety last year as the message board of choice for mass shooters).
What’s most interesting in the case of 8kun is that it provided some detail of why it has adopted this stance. Unlike Reddit and GAB, its decision…
In February 2019, Reddit outlawed the “lolicon” and “shotacon” styles of Japanese manga art, by way of a complete ban on sexually suggestive artistic images of anyone “who appears to be a minor.” Since then, other putative free speech platforms have followed suit, including GAB (known for its alt-right leanings), and most recently 8kun, the rebirth of 8chan (which gained unfortunate notoriety last year as the message board of choice for mass shooters).
What’s most interesting in the case of 8kun is that it provided some detail of why it has adopted this stance. Unlike Reddit and GAB, its decision…
It’s an open secret that the battle against illegal sexual images of minors will never be won through surveillance and censorship, for as long as tools to circumvent surveillance and censorship exist. The Tor browser is an example of such a tool. It allows users to browse the Internet without being tracked or identified. But it also provides access to a network of websites on the Tor network, many of which aren’t available anywhere else, that are effectively insulated from censorship. (You might have heard these described as part of the “dark web”.)
It’s an open secret that the battle against illegal sexual images of minors will never be won through surveillance and censorship, for as long as tools to circumvent surveillance and censorship exist. The Tor browser is an example of such a tool. It allows users to browse the Internet without being tracked or identified. But it also provides access to a network of websites on the Tor network, many of which aren’t available anywhere else, that are effectively insulated from censorship. (You might have heard these described as part of the “dark web”.)
Jeremy Malcolm
Executive Director of Prostasia Foundation
