An Indiana law that requires pornographic websites to verify users’ ages — one of numerous such statutes in effect across the country — is being challenged by an association of the adult entertainment industry.
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request by the same group, the Free Speech Coalition, to block a similar law in Texas.
According to the Indiana law signed by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb in March, the state’s attorney general and individuals can bring legal action against a website’s operator if material “harmful to minors” is accessible to users under the age of 18.
In addition to Indiana and Texas, similar laws have been enacted in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Utah and Virginia. Backers of such laws say they protect children from widespread pornography online, while opponents say the laws are vague and raise privacy concerns.
Has there every actually been a moral panic that helped society? Can we just stop with that and let people live their lives?
Upton Sinclair’s the Jungle?
A moral panic is when people freak out because they’re scared for the nation’s morals or values. The Jungle made people, rightfully, freak out about their health (whether that was the intention or not). I don’t think it qualifies as a moral panic.
I would consider the labor conditions depicted in The Jungle, The Pearl, Of Mice And Men, and Grapes of Wrath worthy of a national moral panic.
The concern we had over the depleted ooze layer and lead contamination in paint and gasoline was nice.