WASHINGTON, D.C. – A little over a year ago, then-candidate Donald Trump signed “The Children’s Internet Safety Presidential Pledge,” a document authored by the anti-porn organization Enough Is Enough (EIE). In signing the pledge, Trump promised to (among other things) “uphold...

MONTREAL – In my current state of mind, I don’t know quite how to make it sound more professional, journalistic or erudite, so I’m just going to say what I feel: If I read one more article trumpeting the latest release of data from Pornhub or another study based on Pornhub’s most...

DUNKIRK, France – If you’ve ever tried your hand at standup comedy or made an appearance at an open mic night of any kind, you may be familiar with the time-honored heckler’s cry “Don’t quit your day job.” This taunt roughly embodies the message YouTubers, in aggregate, have been...

BEIJING – Regardless what one thinks of his personality or politics, or whether you approve or disapprove of his Twitter etiquette, one thing is very clear about Donald Trump: The man appreciates the appearance of strength. Whether he’s lauding the psychological impact he assumes...

LONDON – It’s not every day you read something in which an advocate for stricter regulation of the internet comes right out and admits, in so many words, what she’s seeking is less freedom. Today was such a day, thanks to freelance writer and broadcaster Christina Patterson and...

OAKLAND, Calif. – In reading about the “Political As F**k” erotic film festival happening in the Bay Area this week, I found myself drawing connections between what seem like disparate and contrary motions within the broad, splintered entity commonly referred to as the porn...

LONDON – As the U.K. government prepares to roll out an update to the Digital Economy Act, a great deal of commentary is rightfully focused on questions about privacy, the specter of government censorship and the feasibility of age-verification in an online context. Less...

LONDON – One of the few advantages to getting older is when certain exaggerated social concerns cycle back through the op/ed pages of the international media, old farts like me immediately recognize them as recycled and retread, as opposed to new and novel. When it comes to...

WASHINGTON – Back in the 1990s, when I took my first job in adult entertainment, the porn industry was not at all like the entity it has become — and it certainly wasn’t perceived by the public or the media in the same way it is today. Twenty years ago, mainstream media coverage...

DES MOINES, Iowa – If you associate with enough attorneys, professionally or personally, at some point you’re almost certain to hear some version of an old law school saying that goes something like “hard facts make bad law.” Typically, this old saw is trotted out when discussing...