Texas Age Verification Bill Would Plaster Health Warnings On Porn Sites
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Just when we didn’t think the state of Texas could get any more wacko on tech policy, this latest bill really suggests otherwise. House Bill 1181 is an age verification measure that is similar…

Porn sites must have government health warning in Texas from September 1st::Just when we didn’t think the state of Texas could get any more wacko on tech policy, this latest bill really suggests otherwise. House Bill 1181 is an age verification measure that is similar to what we’ve seen in the state legislatures across other red U.S. states. You have an age verification proposal that is similar…

  • fubo@lemmy.worldEnglish
    57·
    2 years ago

    Pretty clear First Amendment compelled-speech case. The government may not compel a speaker to say a bunch of false things (the supposed “warnings” are lies; and arguably even defamatory ones) as a condition of being permitted to speak.

    The 2018 NIFLA v. Becerra is the most recent Supreme Court case on compelled speech, and it does not look favorable to this sort of thing.

    • SulaymanF@lemmy.worldEnglish
      12·
      2 years ago

      I doubt that. Cigarette companies have to include warning labels as per the courts and there’s a mountain of evidence that porn can be harmful to people.

      • fubo@lemmy.worldEnglish
        32·
        2 years ago

        Go look at what speech they’re compelling. It’s outright defamatory.

        • kautau@lemmy.worldEnglish
          31·
          2 years ago

          Yeah lol

          Or, that exposure to porn “is associated with low self-esteem and body image eating disorders, impaired brain development, and other emotional and mental illnesses.” Note how they use the term “exposure” as if a person watching porn was exposed to a real disease.

          Not to mention

          “The statements on science effects are just false, they have never been shown,” said Prause in an email to me. She elaborated that the “science” referred to in House Bill 1181 is “completely fabricated.” “APA and WHO both rejected sex and pornography as addictions because they are not. The bill flies in the face of scientific consensus.”

          Everything is bigger in Texas. Including outright fabrication

          • Buddahriffic@lemmy.worldEnglish
            4·
            2 years ago

            APA and WHO rejecting sex and porn as addictions makes me more skeptical of them than porn addiction.

            And I’m already side-eyeing WHO from how they handled covid. They are the ones where a lack of evidence had them supporting the “everything is fine” side of things rather than the “better safe than sorry”. And also lying about the lack of evidence itself because there were already stories on the internet that indicated it was airborne when they were saying that there wasn’t any evidence that it was.

            WHO doesn’t have much credibility IMO and this just further hurts it.

      • arin@lemmy.worldEnglish
        14·
        2 years ago

        Damn, people should stop having sex at all. Don’t let people view media that shows examples of sex

        • cola_nut@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          2 years ago

          That’s a pretty big leap. Why would claiming porn is bad mean that people should stop having sex? Also, saying porn shows examples of sex is like saying action movies show examples of real-life conflicts and fights.

        • Techmaster@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          2 years ago

          Don’t let people view media that shows examples of sex

          Damn, what vanilla porn have you been watching?