In a letter to Attorney General William Barr, four Republican members of Congress are demanding that the Justice Department enforce existing obscenity laws to censor pornography.
The letter was signed by Jim Banks of Indiana, Mark Meadows of North Carolina, Vicky Hartzler of Missouri and Brian Babin of Texas. The representatives remind the AG of a promise made by President Trump to go after the adult industry with obscenity
laws already on the books. The letter reads:
Dear Attorney General Barr:
We write to you today out of concern for the rule of law as well as the welfare of our people.
The Internet and other evolving technologies are fueling the explosion of obscene pornography by making it more accessible and visceral. This explosion in pornography coincides with an increase in violence towards women and an
increase in the volume of human trafficking as well us child pornography. Victims are not limited to those directly exploited, however, and include society writ large. This phenomenon is especially harmful to youth, who are being exposed to obscene
pornography at exponentially younger ages.
Fortunately, U.S. obscenity laws exist that, if enforced, can ameliorate this problem, as you well know from your previous term as U.S. Attorney General when you effectively shut down the pornography industry and dramatically
decreased child pornography in America.
Those U.S. laws prohibit distribution of obscene pornography on the Internet. on cable/satellite TV. in hotels/motels, by retail or wholesale establishments, and by common carrier. Yet the enforcement of obscenity laws was stopped by
the Obama Administration when Attorney General Eric Holder disbanded the Obscenity Prosecution Task Force in the Criminal Division.
In August 2016, then-candidate Donald J. Trump signed the first-ever anti-pornography pledge. This asserted that, if elected, President Trump would enforce federal obscenity laws to stop the explosion of obscene pornography. This
pledge has so far been ignored in the Trump Administration with the result that the harms of illegal pornography have continued unabated, affecting children and adults so acutely to the point that 15 state legislatures have declared that pornography is
causing a public health crisis. It is imperative that you follow through on this important campaign promise diode by Mr. Trump.
Given the pervasiveness of obscenity it's our recommendation that you declare the prosecution of obscene pornography a criminal justice priority and urge your U.S. Attorneys to bring prosecutions against the major producers and
distributors of such material.
We urge you to take this simple yet important step toward protecting the lives of those affected by these long ignored crimes. We look forward to your response regarding this request and other action the Department of Justice is
prepared to take in light of these abuses.
Jim Banks of Indiana
Mark Meadows of North Carolina
Vicky Hartzler of Missouri
Brian Babin of Texas.
Pornhub has reported that PayPal would no longer support payments to Pornhub performers saying that it was devastated by the decision, which cuts off the primary way it pays over a hundred thousand performers.
PayPal told Gizmodo that its acceptable use policy forbids certain sexually oriented materials or services.
Pornhub tells The Verge that the decision affects performers who are part of Pornhub's Model Program, which lets individuals upload their own videos and earn advertising revenue from those videos. The company is pointing performers toward its other
payment options including check, direct deposit, the Paxum e-wallet, and the Verge cryptocurrency
Saying that US banks also frequently refuse to allow sex related workers to open accounts, so some of the basic alternatives may in fact be problematic.
In a letter to Attorney General William Barr, four Republican members of Congress are demanding that the Justice Department enforce existing obscenity laws to censor pornography.
Pornhub has reported that PayPal would no longer support payments to Pornhub performers saying that it was devastated by the decision, which cuts off the primary way it pays over a hundred thousand performers.
