BEIJING – With all the legislative talk about porn being a “public health crisis,” some who work within the adult entertainment industry (and some who enjoy the products made by the industry, as well) are understandably nervous about the prospect of a government crackdown on...

LOS ANGELES – As much as I stand by the right of people who make and consume porn to think, write, depict and say a lot of things I personally find truly repulsive, there’s a difference between what people have the right to do and what it’s smart, wise or in the self-interest of...

NEW YORK – In a case that reaches back to the days of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and his campaign to eliminate adult businesses from Times Square (among other places in the city), this week the New York State Court of Appeals upheld the city’s ban on adult businesses operating within...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – When former University of Florida deputy Title IX coordinator Chris Loschiavo was fired in 2016, the university initially justified his termination by claiming conflict of interest. This rationale was, as it turns out, somewhat less than half the story. The...

GLENDORA, Calif. – If you study crime statistics, or any other statistics that track trends, you’ll quickly notice something undeniable: All trend lines start at zero, not because the events or actions they track never happened before, but because zero represents when tracking...

ST. CATHARINES, Canada – If you ever find yourself employing lies to keep from getting into trouble, here’s an important tip to bear in mind: Whatever bullshit you float as you’re trying to wriggle your way off the hook, make sure it’s plausible bullshit. Another, related piece...

DANVILLE, Ill. – As you’ve no doubt heard by now, infamous “copyright troll” attorney John Steele has been disbarred, an unsurprising development in the wake of his pleading guilty to fraud and money laundering charges in March. To those of us who have been unfortunate enough to...

MENLO PARK, Calif. – The technologies behind social media platforms may be modern, but the conundrum predates the printing press: When it comes to depictions of sexuality, where is the line drawn between “pornography” and “art”? Among the intriguing details that have emerged from...

WASHINGTON – According to Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs poll, a higher percentage of Americans than ever before now consider porn to be “morally acceptable.” Even though 36 percent of respondents said they find it acceptable, porn still ranks well behind medical...

JAKARTA, Indonesia – If you’ve ever attended a legal seminar at an adult trade event during which U.S. obscenity law was discussed, you’ve likely heard more than a mouthful about the vagueness and sweeping breadth of the law, be it at the local, state or federal level. While it’s...