Internet Porn Censorship

Australia's federal government is looking to bring on board credit card company Mastercard as part of its move toward developing a digital identity and age verification system for porn viewing.

Mastercard announced that it has joined into a new partnership with the Digital Transformation Agency and is seeking accreditation to become a digital identity service provider. It said it was looking to offer ways for the federal government to achieve an online age verification system.

But privacy experts are warning the government needed to pull the brakes on implementing without input from tech experts and the wider community.

Digital rights expert from Electronic Frontiers Australia Justin Warren said past experience had shown the government often began consultations long after plans had been drawn up. He added that it was important users be given options to protect their privacy.

Two French campaign groups are suing the main ISPs in France, demanding the total block of several adult sites that they consider too accessible to minors.

The groups suing top French ISPs SFR, Orange, Bouygues Télécom, Free, Colt Technologies Services and Outre mer Télécomare are called e-Enfance (e-Infancy) and La Voix de l'Enfant (The Voice of the Child).

The ISPs were asked to appear next Thursday, September 9 in front of the Paris Judicial Court.

The lawsuit is proof that the French anti-porn groups intend to restrict access to adult content in that European market. Earlier this year, supporters of France's controversial age-verification law had claimed that they knew it was impractical and considered the passage of the measure as "symbolic."

ISP Orange told Le Figaro that they will "abide by the decision of the court and would shut down these sites speedily if that's what we are asked to do. But in the absence of a judicial decision, we apply the rules of net neutrality and freedom of expression"

It's not just state censorship rules that control adult companies, but there are also rules imposed by other organisations for their own reasons. And in this case it is the banking industry that is controlling adult content.

Video sharing site OnlyFans, best known for its creators' adult videos and photos, will prohibit sexually explicit content starting October 1st. The company says it is making the changes because of pressure from its banking and payment providers.

OnlyFans said in a statement emailed to The Verge:

In order to ensure the long-term sustainability of our platform, and to continue to host an inclusive community of creators and fans, we must evolve our content guidelines,.

Creators on the platform will still be allowed to post nude images as long as they comply with the site's acceptable use policy. More information will be available in the coming days. OnlyFans remains committed to the highest levels of safety and content moderation of any social platform.

 

Update: Will OnlyFans censorship pave the way for Bitcoin to become the coinage of online porn

22nd August 2021. See article from newsweek.com

OnlyFans has been effectively banned by moralistic bankers, so will this in turn be an opportunity for the crypto industry to capitalise by offering platforms that are not held to ransom by financial institutions.

Crypto analyst Christina Rud told Newsweek:

What's essentially happening here is that you have payment providers deciding what's right or wrong which is really scary, and definitely not the kind of society that would champion democratic values.

Rud explains that using blockchain-enabled technology is the way forward for the porn industry because content cannot be censored. The technology also has no central entity controlling it. Therefore crypto-led pornography platforms would be immune to the moralizing whims of boardroom politics.

The porn industry has already begun embracing the blockchain. Pornhub first announced it would be accepting cryptocurrency payments in 2018. Then, after it was axed by Visa and Mastercard in 2020, the platform moved to only accepting cryptocurrency for its premium service.

 

Update: Naming names of the disgraceful bankers

24th August 2021. See article from variety.com

The OnlyFans CEO names names of the disgraceful bankers that sought to impose their morality on their customers and have trashed the livelihoods of so many.

OnlyFans founder and chief exec Tim Stokely placed the blame for the U.K. company's move to ban sexually explicit content as of Oct. 1, announced last week, on several major banks in an interview with the Financial Times published Tuesday. He said:

The change in policy, we had no choice -- the short answer is banks, Stokely said. Banks including JP Morgan Chase, Bank of New York Mellon and the U.K.'s Metro Bank cite reputational risk and refuse our business

We pay over 1 million creators over $300 million every month, and making sure that these funds get to creators involves using the banking sector. Because several banks have cut off OnlyFans from making wire transfers, that has made it difficult to pay creators, he said.

Stokely also said that OnlyFans is fully compliant with new Mastercard rules, so that had no bearing on the decision to ban porn. He also said the change was not made to appease investors.

 

Update: A change of heart

24th August 2021. See article from tmz.com

OnlyFans has reversed course and will no longer be banning sexually explicit content on its platform starting October 1 ... after outcry from its creators and the general public. OnlyFans announced:

Thank you to everyone for making your voices heard. We have secured assurances necessary to support our diverse creator community and have suspended the planned October 1 policy change.

As we reported ... OnlyFans blamed its planned porn ban on conflicts with banking partners and payout providers -- suggesting they'd no longer do business with the site due to the sexual content -- but it seems those issues have been resolved.

 

Update: Mastercard censorship rules

28th August 2021. See article from mastercard.com

Mastercard updated its censorship rules for their customers in April 2021. Mastercard wrote:

Enhancing requirements for adult content, preventing anonymous content

This month, we are extending our existing Specialty Merchant Registration requirements. The banks that connect merchants to our network will need to certify that the seller of adult content has effective controls in place to monitor, block and, where necessary, take down all illegal content.

Now, our requirements address the risks associated with this activity. And that starts with strong content control measures and clear, unambiguous and documented consent.

Other updated requirements include:

• Documented age and identity verification for all people depicted and those uploading the content

• Content review process prior to publication

• Complaint resolution process that addresses illegal or nonconsensual content within seven business days

• Appeals process allowing for any person depicted to request their content be removed

 

Update: A good summary from the Guardian

28th August 2021. See article from theguardian.com

Why OnlyFans had second thoughts on banning sexually explicit content. Homegrown adult content site announced last week it was suspending adult content, only to quickly change its mind

Australia's newly appointed internet censor has opened consultations on a range of new measures to implement age verification for mainstream 18 rated movies and also for online porn.

A recently passed censorship law requires content deemed to be R18+ or higher to be behind a restricted access system so it cannot be accessed by children.

Julie Inman-Grant, the Australian eSafety Commissioner announced a plan that will look at technological approaches for online age verification, and comes just months after the federal government agreed in principle to use its digital identity scheme to verify the ages of individuals before they access online pornographic or gambling sites. The plan suggests that will be no action to implement this until 2023.

The current consultation will close on 12 September.

The new age verification requirements will not be limited to material hosted or provided in Australia, but will cover commercially produced and user-generated sexually explicit material being accessed by Australians.

Last week the eSafety Commissioner also opened consultations on the Basic Online Safety Expectations (BOSE) for large social media firms like Facebook, outlining core and additional expectations around the cyberbullying of children and cyber-abuse of adults.

AVN Hall of Fame porn performer Victoria Paris died Tuesday of cancer at the age of 60.

Paris entered adult movies in 1988 after moving to Los Angeles, where she dabbled as a secretary, mud wrestler and nude model before performing in her first triple-X title, Girls of Double D 7 . Her first starring role was in Moonlight Entertainment's Live In, Love In (1989), a parody of Three's Company co-starring Tori Welles, Carol Cummings and Robert Bullock, to whom Paris was married at the time.

In 1990, Paris shared AVN's Best New Starlet accolade with Welles--the only tie for that prize in AVN Awards history. The following year, she took home Best All-Girl Sex Scene -- Video (with Sabrina Dawn) for Henri Pachard's The New Barbarians , and Best Couples Sex Scene -- Video (with Randy West) for Paul Thomas' Beauty and the Beast 2 , both from VCA. Then in 1992, she won Best Girl/Girl Scene from the X-Rated Critics Organization (XRCO) for her performance with Angela Summers and Sandra Scream in the Bruce Seven-helmed Snatched to the Future from Elegant Angel Productions.

Some of Paris' other most notable credits include:

• John Leslie's The Chameleon (1989, VCA),
• Jim Enright's Bimbo Bowlers From Buffalo (1989, Zane Entertainment Group),
• John Stagliano's The Adventures of Buttman (1989, Evil Angel),
• Jim Holliday's Sorority Sex Kittens (1993, VCA) and
• Andrew Blake's Night Trips (1989, Caballero Home Video).

Recently Pornhub decided to have a little fun with classic nude art house in notable museums. Pornhub explained in a blog post:

After a year of being cooped up and isolated, it's no wonder there's talk of the emergence of a New Renaissance. Now that the world if finally starting to open up, we wanted to do our part to inspire and reintroduce people to some of the most famous cultural institutions with fresh eyes and realize how lascivious art can really be!

Introducing Classic Nudes, an interactive guide to some of the most provocative scenes in six renowned art museums around the world. And as for those of you who think art is boring, put your faith in us because even though porn may not be considered art, some art can definitely be considered porn.

We'll help you skip the SFW masterpieces and head straight to the erotic paintings and sculptures at The Louvre, The MET, The Museo del Prado, The Uffizi Gallery, The National Gallery in London, and The Musee d'Orsay. With the Classic Nudes mobile site, you can now take a sexy tour with audio commentary from our very own Brand Ambassador Asa Akira who gives an oral history of the curated collection of nudes, orgies, and bushes. And as if hearing what Asa has to say about these racy scenes isn't convincing enough, you can also expect a surprise happy ending with MySweetApple who helped bring these artworks to life.

Now thelocal.fr reports:

The Classic Nudes series has been ruffling some feathers since it was posted online earlier in July, with the Uffizi museum in Florence threatening to sue. Bosses at the Louvre have said only that they are dismayed, while the Musee d'Orsay has remained silent on the subject.

Update: Art vs Porn. Art wins

13th August 2021. See article from artnews.com

Last month, Pornhub launched Classic Nudes, an interactive guide to some of the erotic art that can be found in major museums around the world. Following complaints from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid, and the Louvre in Paris, audio tours and other content referencing artworks owned these institutions have been removed.

Following the guide's launch, the Uffizi announced that it was planning to sue Pornhub for copyright infringement. In particular, the Uffizi objected to Pornhub's use of Titian's famed Venus of Urbino (1538) in a pornographic reenactment with the amateur adult couple, My SweetApple. In an interview with the Art Newspaper, a representative for the Uffizi said that the museum viewed Pornhub's use of its paintings as totally illegal and that it had been done without any permission.

Offsite Comment: The Online Safety Bill won’t solve online abuse

 2nd July 2021. See article by Heather Burns

The Online Safety Bill contains threats to freedom of expression, privacy, and commerce which will do nothing to solve online abuse, deal with social media platforms, or make the web a better place to be.

 

Update: House of Lords Committee considers that social media companies are not the best 'arbiters of truth'

21st July 2021. See article from dailymail.co.uk , See report from committees.parliament.uk

A house of Lords committee has warned that the government's plans for new online censorship laws will diminish freedom of speech by making Facebook and Google the arbiters of truth.

The influential Lords Communications and Digital Committee cautioned that legitimate debate is at risk of being stifled by the way major platforms filter out misinformation. Committee chairman Lord Gilbert said:

The benefits of freedom of expression online mustn't be curtailed by companies such as Facebook and Google, too often guided their commercial and political interests than the rights and wellbeing of their users.

The report said:

We are concerned that platforms approaches to misinformation have stifled legitimate debate, including between experts.

Platforms should not seek to be arbiters of truth. Posts should only be removed in exceptional circumstances.

The peers said the government should switch to enforcing existing laws more robustly, and criminalising any serious harms that are not already illegal.

Adult creators on OnlyFans are feeling violated. Some customers are viewing their content then getting refunds via fraudulent chargebacks.

The creator is left to reimburse the money when a customer disputes a payment with their credit card company, despite the scammer already having accessed their content. This is very typical of online companies where customers are considered always right in their claims against traders.

Creators have said that these chargebacks can come through up to six months after viewing the content.

Myles Jackman, a British obscenity lawyer who specializes in cases related to pornography, tells Newsweek that it is usually a case of:

Man purchases sexual services, has a happy time, and then afterwards feels guilt, remorse and shame, and also the loss of money, and so tries to get the money back.

Platforms like OnlyFans really need to raise their game, in terms of representing the rights of the performers in a much more proactive fashion

It's not just about the financial loss, it is also an issue of consent. Creators did not choose to let their bodies be seen for free, and it can be upsetting to know that they have inadvertently done so.

 

Offsite Comment: Only Non-Fans at the BBC

17th July 2021. See article from bbc.co.uk

OnlyFans, a social media platform best known for explicit content, has boomed during the pandemic. But from receiving terrorism videos to racial abuse and rape threats, a BBC investigation based on the experiences of dozens of women reveals concerns about how the British-run site is structured, managed and moderated.

euConsent is a consortium of twelve pro-censorship academic institutions, campaigners and technology providers championing internet age verification in the name of child protection. The consortium is being funded by the EU Commission to design, deliver and pilot a new Europe-wide system age/iD verification system and to ensure that younger children have parental consent before they share personal data.

The consortium doesn't seem to have much interest in keeping adults safe from their ID and porn viewing data being used by scammers, spammers, thieves, commercial exploiters and of course state authorities.

Pro-censorship campaigner and chair of the consortium John Carr has now announced that the group has had its first meeting. He noted:

An Advisory Board has been established and I agreed to be its Chair. The Board comprises representatives of a wide range of stakeholders: European regulatory authorities, children's rights organizations, tech companies and politicians. We held our inaugural meeting last Friday.

[notice no mention of porn viewers or adult internet users].

The Board will hold the project team accountable, helping them as they establish the standards. The Board's collective and individual insights will contribute to a system that is workable with existing technology and facilitates the creation and implementation of effective regulations. Any new technologies which may emerge will know what they must be able to do if they are to be recognised as an acceptable tool.

Our Big Brother government is seeking ways for all websites users to be identified and tracked in the name of child protection. But for all the up and coming legislation that demands age verification, there aren't actually any methods yet that satisfy both strict age verification and protect people's personal data from hackers, thieves, scammers, spammers, money grabbing age verification companies, the government, and the provably data abusing social media companies.

The Observer has reported on a face scanning scheme whereby the age verification company claims not to look up your identity via facial recognition and instead just trying and count the wrinkles on your photo.

See article from theguardian.com .

Security expert Alec Muffet has also posted some interesting and relevant background provided to the Observer that somehow did not make the cut.

See article from alecmuffett.com

India's National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is moving forward with proceedings to ban the access of children to Twitter in the country until the platform completely removes all pornographic material.

NDTV reports that on May 29, a letter was issued to the secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology to initiate a ban on the access of children on Twitter on an immediate basis till the time Twitter makes its platform safe for children by ensuring complete removal of child sexual abuse material and pornographic material and reporting of cybercrime cases to the authorities in India.

It is unclear how NCPCR intends to effect age verification for the 1.3 billion Indians, mostly adults, that would be affected by a potential block.

According to NCPCR chief Priyank Kanoongo, Twitter was found to have given false and misleading responses during the enquiry conducted by NCPCR for the presence of pornographic material, an offense under the POCSO Act. The POCSO Act is a 2012 law to provide for the protection of children from the offenses of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography.

The German media censor, the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media, wants to force the hosting provider of the porn website xHamster to lock out German users.

A year ago, the State Agency for Media in North Rhine-Westphalia began to issue porn portals such as PornHub with an ultimatum: Either they establish age verification systems or there is a threat of network blocking.

Several proceedings are currently pending at the Dusseldorf Administrative Court are being contested by porn companies who argue that they label their websites according to an international standard designed to make it easy for parents to block offers on their children's devices.

However, German legislation takes the opposite approach: Portals that are harmful to minors should only be accessible if the users are proved to be of legal age. Tobias Schmid, the director of the State Agency for Media in North Rhine-Westphalian, said:

In the end it is very simple: Anyone who wants to earn money with pornography in the German market has to adhere to German laws.

The agency has now been able to determine the hosting provider for xHamster. This is not trivial, as many porn portals disguise their IT infrastructure with the help of cloud services. The media censor has now written an official to the web host.