Porn Age verification used to be the norm
Porn Age verification, in the legacy porn industry, was non-debatable. Albeit, many of the performers, pornographers and distributors only agreed with age verification because no one wanted the public backlash, rather than due to a moral duty to protect minors. However, the legacy jizz biz did not have a shortage of single moms trying to make a decent living or dads paying child support. James DiGiorgio (Jimmy D) once said, “Almost everyone in front of the camera has a kid. We’re a business that loves our kids and will protect them with a bat.” For the few smut creators left of the old school, arguing against some form of age barrier is something akin to a South Park episode.
Big tech and the political scam
Technology was once the porn industry’s ally, but the big tech platforms turned out to be traitors. Porn tube sites (platforms such as P0rn Hùb) allowed users to upload and share adult content for free.
- No demands for paperwork which attested to the performer’s age.
- No proof that videos were uploaded with consent and not as revenge porn.
- No proof of copyright ownership.
But worse of all…
* No proof that those who clicked “Yes to Enter” were legal adults. *
The “click to enter” function was normally accompanied by some pseudo legalese bullshit giving it the appearance that it was some form of an electronic attestation /contract with the user. Except those under 18 cannot be bound by such a contact, More importantly though minors cannot be expected to be truthful. Especially when faced with the “attractive nuisance” that online pornography is. To simplify, any site’s “Enter only if you’re over 18” button, legally has less worth than the paper it was printed on (NB: it’s not written on paper, in case your ADHD has taken over). Yet, despite this reality, worldwide governments, lawyers and even anti-porn groups accepted this as a sufficient gate-keeper to deter children.
One of the first and largest porn tube sites, received large sums of startup capital from Fortress Investment Group which as founded in 1988 by Wesley R. Edens, a former partner at BlackRock. In 2002, Fortress welcomed Peter Briger, a former Goldman Sachs banker into its executive roster. Clearly this private equity firm has substantial financial assets and powerful political influence. Quite literally the stuff that conspiracy theories are made of: Were the last 20 years liberal porn access due to global incompetence among the ruling class or were there other agendas being pursued ?
Clearly politicians don’t really have our best interests at heart. They can’t get elected unless they have the support of those that control the minds (media) and purse-strings of the nation. Whether it’s political contributions, insider trading, or direct bribery, even the most saintly individual will eventually exchange favors for money. Because anyone who is able to resist this temptation will eventually be replaced by someone who isn’t so morally inhibited. Therefore at this point in time, it’s irrelevant if various governments were just neglectful or if some conspiracy was at play. In all likelihood, it’s probably varying degrees of incompetence and corruption.
Big Tech holds all the Cards
Twenty plus years with tube sites having free reign over adult content is all the proof one needs that activist groups and lawyer organizations were not really fighting to protect minors. All that was needed was to enforce the laws that were already in place. Instead we got rhetoric that these “new” technologies required “new” digitally specific legislation. By exposing and discrediting these organizations, we can better focus on legitimate solutions to the issue at hand.
Politicians are using the issue of age verification for adult sites as a means to garner media attention. By championing the cause of protecting children from explicit content, they can present themselves as moral crusaders. Pandering, on the surface, to the well meaning public. This seemly noble cause to protect the innocent, covers a corporate fascist agenda.
The twenty years that they took to address this issue was just time enough to consolidate most of the porn industry into a handful of tech companies. Furthermore, in this time, the world has developed a dependency on social media. The combination of profiling through social media and porn consumption will create a complete profile of individuals. Social media already has a profile based on contact information, personal tastes, public values, as well as social circle. Giving big tech control over the ID verification for porn consumption will allow social media profiles to be over-layed with your physical address, as well as your most intimate and private desires.
Online ID verification is a database readily accessible by corporations, banks, government agencies and law enforcement, with little or no oversight and even less transparency. Any individual’s sexual proclivities can easily be cross-referenced with their government issued Identification. A married woman with children may have secret lesbian desires. While a middle-age man might enjoy seeing barely legal videos. Imagine the potential for blackmail and damage if it were to be irrefutably known that a high ranking military official, national security agent, head of state or even banker enjoys watching humiliation and degradation videos.
Democratizing means in the hands of the people.
Many of the jizz biz old schoolers have commented that if there ever was an industry that didn’t require democratization, it’s the porn industry. The porn tubes and fan platforms (eg: 0nly Fàns) do little to promote individual sexual expression or diversity, in fact, strict rules of engagement ensure conformity. All the platforms use monetization and banning as tools of censorship for any sex act or scenario, they deem too divergent from their desired norms. Meanwhile, they financially reward only a small elite group of content makers. The truth is that 99% of content creators earn little, to nothing, for their work.
The legacy pornographers fought for the Right to Freedom of Speech. Only, this right wasn’t won through the direct use of technology. It’s impossible to create democracy by using corporate controlled social media or blogging about social problems when google (and soon AI) controls what the public sees. Porn became recognized as a form of Free Speech when people were willing to go to jail for creating it. In other words, democracy is in defiance and it’s in an angry mob. It’s not going to be found on the Internet.
The only workable solution to truly protect minors remains a paywall, with access purchased at a physical store. There are much fewer of these places than there were 20 years ago, but like the few remaining die hard pornographers, some do continue in spite of online domination. Without a doubt, Big tech will continue to dominate distribution because of their resources. However, many avenues could open up for the small “mom and pop” adult businesses willing to deal directly with the public.
For example:
- In a strip bar, dancers could directly sell access to their sites or content. The bar could use off hours to allow dancers who worked there to make content, which could be used to get more people interested in seeing the dancers in person.
- Swingers could sell access to their amateur home movies at parties and swinger clubs. Or the clubs could offer (in person verified) members a whole technical immersion. Everything from a members only chat/ dating app, to a virtual tour of the club, to a place for member created content visible only to other club members. With membership incentives for popular content.
- Likewise small independent producers could promote their productions at venues such as Exxotica. Or perhaps, future independent pornographers could partner with their local adult boutiques.
The list of possibilities for direct sales is only limited by imagination. Big corporations can only limit what someone sees, and they increase these limitations regularly. Whereas small producers innovate and create art! In a very real ironic sense, this grassroots approach to porn production would be even more democracy within porn. Unfortunately, it’s a form of sexual and economic freedom that neither government, nor the big corporations desire.
Now more than ever, what’s required is 20th century anger and bravery. The corporations and government have gained control over the minds and hearts of many people. It stands to reason that they also want control over your genitals.
Hamilton Steele official site : SteeleHard.com
