Thread by @nprandchill

The Louisiana age verification porn law will limit adult porn access and could be used to limit internet access more broadly 🧵 (1/n)

First looking at how this law will impact porn access for adults, not everyone in LA over the age of 18 has a government ID

Per ACLU: Up to 25% of Black citizens over 18 don't have a gov ID compared to only 8% of white folks

(aclu.org/fact-sheet/opp…) (2/n)

Now assume you HAVE an ID.

Even though the LA law requires verifiers not to retain any info after granting access, many people who DO have an ID, won't want to want to give their info to porn sites (3/n)

The law will also impact the porn media consumption of adults WILLING to give their info to porn sites

Porn can provide a safe way to explore sexual desires, but will adults feels safe doing so if they worry their porn history could be traced to their gov ID? (4/n)

This law could also impact the internet access far beyond porn.

It requires age verification for sites with "more than thirty-three and one-third percent of total material [harmful to minors] on a website" (5/n)

(legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocu…)

Lets put aside the absolute absurdity of trying to count the percent of "material harmful to minors" on a site and assume this can be computed. (6/n)

Substantial potions of the sites folks use every day (e.g., Reddit and Twitter) have NSFW content.

Based on the large amount of porn on Reddit, it could theoretically fall above the 1/3 "material harmful to minors" threshold under this age verification law. (7/n)

Reddit is particularly important for helping members of stigmatized communities like queer folks and sexual violence survivors.

Age verification would limit Reddit access for adults (for the reasons mentioned above) as well as taking away vital support systems from minors (8/n)

While requiring age verification on Reddit may seem a bit of a stretch, I can certainly imagine this law being used to target queer apps like Grindr (esp given the current moral panic)

One could def argue the amount of "material harmful to minors" on Grindr is > 1/3 (9/n)

This law isn't new.

I'm a social media researcher not a lawyer, but it reminds me of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) from the 90s

COPA also required age verification for sites that distribute material "harmful to minors" (eff.org/cases/aclu-v-r…) (10/n)

Luckily, COPA was found to be unconstitutional, in part, for restricting adult First Amendment rights (eff.org/deeplinks/2009…)

However, we are now in an extremely conservative legal environment (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashcroft_…) (11/n)

Much like other repugnant right-wing state laws (*gestures wildly at all the recent anti-LGBTQ+ legislation*), I worry this law could spread to other states.

I'm worried for the future of the internet. (12/n)

Finally, for a bit more historical context, I encourage people read this 1999 piece (a CHI Plenary Session) warning about laws like COPA from an ACLU Lawyer: dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.114…

(13/n)