Age Verification Laws Are Censorship Hiding Behind Porn

Taylor Lorenz has an excellent newsletter about this, but this part is something to think about:

This moral panic isn’t just limited to access to pornography; it expands state and corporate control by chilling expression and thus creating a climate of self-censorship. Just like how some schools and libraries have become overly cautious about not stocking books that someone may be offended by, in the UK, similar dynamics are already playing out with age verification online. Under the UK’s Online Safety Act, Reddit users attempting to access subreddits covering war crimes in Gaza and Ukraine were required to post a selfie or provide a photo ID.

Bluesky recently cut service in Mississippi over similar laws. Don’t think for one second it’s not happening in the US, it’s been spreading across the south for some time now.