The left’s crusade to sexualize children begins with exposing them to so-called adult material. Last week’s move by PornHub, the most popular pornography website, to retaliate after Utah’s refusal to allow such content to be viewed by minors is only the latest evidence.
Utah joined multiple other states pursuing pro-children measures when Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a law in March to protect children from pornography and its dangerous, brain chemistry-altering effects. The new law requires users to verify their age with an identification card each time they access websites with content “harmful to minors” — a sensible restriction on a website such as PornHub that provides a platform for products of child sexual abuse, sex trafficking, rape, and other nonconsensual behavior.
Monday, just two days before the law that passed unanimously was set to go into effect, PornHub and other sites controlled by its parent company, MindGeek, shut down access to their websites for computers containing IP addresses within Utah.
Pornography is a $100 billion industry. Why would PornHub risk its customer base in Utah if it could still maintain its adult audience there? With the age verification law in effect, the website could still have continued to rake in profits from the supposed intended audience. PornHub’s willingness to boycott the state entirely shows who the target demographic is: children.
Anyone with a Utah IP address who tried going to PornHub’s website was met with a code indicating the website was forbidden. PornHub’s statement regarding the motivation for such action was telling:
As you may know, your elected officials in Utah are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website. While safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users, and in fact, will put children and your privacy at risk.
Hooking children offers companies like PornHub a huge advantage in creating lifelong customers. PornHub’s reliance on showing its content to minors can be easily understood in the context of its addictive nature. Young people are easily taken advantage of, and starting them young provides PornHub with an audience more susceptible to long-term addiction and abuse.
“Research is clear that pornography can be extremely harmful to children, as it has negative impacts on the brain and relational development. Some studies show that pornography exposure is a tool in grooming and those exposed are more vulnerable to assault and predatory acts,” Dawn Hawkins, CEO of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, explained in a statement. “Our laws have long held those who distribute harmful material to minors liable for any harm they cause, and the internet should not be different.”
Pornography wreaks havoc on a user’s body, mind, and soul. Anyone who regularly engages with pornography is at a significantly greater risk of developing perverted tendencies, as well as having altered brain chemistry that thwarts the potential to cultivate healthy relationships. It also drastically increases rates of isolation and depression, and it bolsters sexual dysfunction. Not only does porn cause tragic mental and physical effects, but dozens of women have sued PornHub for profiting off of rape and child exploitation material, which makes its business more than just deeply immoral but also highly illegal.
Pornographers aren’t the only ones engaging in the perilous — but profitable — tactic of targeting children. It’s also evident in the transgender movement. Transgender surgery is a $1.9 billion industry. Strategically targeting children who haven’t reached the age of consent and whose brains haven’t fully matured provides the transgender cult with a massive opportunity for manipulation. Whether those minors who undergo disfigurement surgeries ultimately continue down that path or eventually attempt to undo the damage, Big Pharma has gained a lifelong customer.
The left’s push to expose children to sexual content, from PornHub to Drag Queen Story Hour, has long been obvious to those paying attention. Last week’s showdown in Utah is just more confirmation.
The Utah law signed in March followed a similar Louisiana law passed last year. Arkansas and Mississippi have approved their own age verification laws, and several other states are considering similar bills.
At the federal level, a bill that would enact a similar age verification measure for pornographic websites nationwide is currently under consideration in the U.S. Congress. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced the Shielding Children’s Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net (SCREEN) Act in December.
