Right, because we've never checked ID for things like tobacco and alcohol before?

These porn companies should work on efficient cost effective ways to verify adults instead of using politics and social media to increase profits. I'm sure you are aware profit is higher if children are allowed on their websites.

Fair point on the current system being theater, but here's the thing - any centralized age verification system creates exactly the surveillance database you're worried about.

The "harder than clicking yes" solutions all have the same fundamental flaw: they require collecting and storing sensitive data that becomes a honeypot for both state actors and bad actors. Upload your ID? Now there's a database linking your identity to your viewing habits. Credit card verification? Same problem, plus you're creating financial trails.

The technical reality is that determined kids will circumvent anything you put in place. We already saw this play out - VPN registrations exploded 1,000% in France within 30 minutes. You're not actually protecting kids; you're just normalizing data collection on adults while teaching every teenager in the country how to use Tor.

Better approach would be device-level parental controls that parents can configure without creating centralized databases. Let Apple, Google, Microsoft handle age verification through their existing account systems where the data stays local. That way you get actual protection without building the infrastructure for a surveillance state.

The French solution gives you the worst of both worlds - ineffective protection AND mass surveillance. Classic government efficiency.

Go back to watching porn.

Go back to church.

The fact that you think that's a burn just proves my point. If you watch porn you should seriously stop. It's terrible for your brain chemistry, personal relationships, emotional health, vitality and spiritual state. It exploits women and severely damages the way men see women. Human sexuality gets hijacked and instead of having a loving relationship people are stuck in private viewing shameful images and pleasuring themselves for years not understanding that they are literally wasting their life and potential. People get addicted to the instant release of porn which harms personal relationships and longer-form activities that take continual effort and nuance and bring a higher order of pleasure and happiness. It's probably good that porn frequently distracts people from having kids because undoubtedly the child would eventually be exposed to it purposefully or not by the parent at some point. So even if I accept your premise -- porn is evil.

You realise most of that could be flipped to say the same thing about religion too, right?
And religion has arguably done more harm to women than porn ever has or will, so if porn is evil, religion must be too.

With places like onlyfans surging in popularity, women (and men) are much less likely to be exploited these days. There's a lot less degrading content out there, and there's many healthy couples who watch (and make) porn together, with no negative impact on their lives.

And I'm not denying some people are affected negatively by it, much like some people become alcoholics rather than only drinking socially.

Nothing in this world is purely good or evil. Those are terms you use for fantasy stories, not the real world.

It's too easy to go around. Make a Reddit account: NSFW access.

Search torrents, NSFW access.

Join a telegram channel, NSFW access.

Hell, just search google images and it'll work to an extent.

Discord, same thing.

With this many websites, you just can't stop it. They can't even stop the piracy websites so..

It seriously harms everyone's right to stay private and anonymous for this, and I believe it sucks.

If then want to see it, they'll ask other people, and that's where it becomes dangerous.

You realise most of that could be flipped to say the same thing about religion too, right?

Lol okay. What is your worldview that's so great it's going to set me straight? Let me guess "live and let live dude..."

I'm a Christian. The Gospels are very clear about monogamy and that women are to be cherished and treated with respect. I respect women and recognize they are preyed upon constantly by our over-sexualized culture into dressing more provocatively, chasing impossible lifestyles and possibly having an onlyfans or whatever.

And religion has arguably done more harm to women than porn ever has or will, so if porn is evil, religion must be too.

Even if there was a way to quantify that claim (there's not) and I argued from some tradition like Islam (which I don't) you don't even have a moral framework to argue from so your critique is meaningless. You don't know what is harmful and what isnt. This proven by your next "points".

With places like onlyfans surging in popularity, women (and men) are much less likely to be exploited these days.

Says who? Youth and chastity are being exploited. You don't think showing your genitalia to the entire world at 18 will have negative effects to mental, emotional and spiritual health now or later in life? It's nihilistic, degenerate and utterly devoid of meaning and promise. It is the basest form of entertainment, income and existence. It's disgusting and everyone secretly knows it which is why your initial comment was a vague, limp-wristed platitude instead of direct defense of pornography. Something you still lack the conviction to say authoritatively because you know what I'm saying is true.

There's a lot less degrading content out there

Like you would know what is degrading and what isnt.

many healthy couples who watch (and make) porn together, with no negative impact on their lives.

"Healthy". Yeah that sounds real healthy. They are so healthy they have to resort to watching other people having sex when they should be spending time together making or raising kids. Who knows the conditions of the poor souls they are watching.

The fact that you think watching porn is healthy is an indicator that it has had a negative impact on your life.

You have no moral framework which is why this is fine to you. Porn is so disgusting and degenerate you have to be wilfully ignorant or totally blinded not to recognize it.

No one wants their daughter to grow up to be a porn star or their son to grow up to be a porn addict. That in and of itself should be enough evidence that it is a scourge with no generative potential for anyone.

You have more faith in the younger generations technical skills than I do. Either way though I don't want it to be impossible to bypass, just harder to access if you aren't an adult.

Understandable, but I don’t believe requiring personal information is the way to go

All I ever learmed from the gospels is that women are to be treated as baby factories and cleaners who stay quietly at home. While men are allowed to lead, work, vote, etc..

I have a perfectly fine moral framework. It just isn't based on a book written and modified by exploitative and controlling men many centuries ago.
Chastity is just another meaningless 'moral' invented by the damaging book you worship.

Your religious beliefs are what make you feel so negatively about porn. Fact is, not everyone has the same beliefs and negative attitude toward it.

You also hold some very strong falsehoods about people who watch porn. You act as if people who watch porn only ever do that, and it prevents them from doing anything else in their life.

My initial comment wasn't a direct defense of pornography because I know it isn't perfect.
For some people it has a negative impact on their life, for many it's neutral, and for some it can even have a positive imapct.
Just like I wouldn't jump in to say alcohol is amazing and 'not evil', there are positives and negatives. I don't believe in absolutist terms.

While your continued failure to comprehend my initial comment is astonishing, it is also very tiring. Neither of us are benfiting from this conversation so, have a good life, stranger.