With a three-decade legacy of promoting online child safety, ASACP, the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection, is at the forefront of corporate responsibility for digital publishers.
ASACP encourages industry excellence through proactive initiatives, its Code of Ethics, market-specific Best Practices, and free tools for parents and publishers to create safe spaces for children that preserve the rights of consenting adults.
The association also works closely with global law enforcement agencies and lawmakers to advocate for children’s safety and the needs of industry stakeholders.
Recently, several U.S. States have begun enforcing age verification requirements on adult websites, preventing citizens from their jurisdictions accessing these sites — some of the world’s most popular online destinations. As a result, a growing wave of frustrated consumers are seeing the ASACP and RTA (Restricted To Adults) logos on these sites and subsequently contacting the association in the mistaken belief that we are to blame for their inability to access the sites of their choice.
To set the record straight, ASACP and RTA present the following facts and info
rmation:
What Adults Should Know:
Several U.S. States have implemented a hodge-podge patchwork of online age verification laws.
In response, some adult site owners have chosen to block access from these states to protect themselves better from the enormous financial and other penalties for non-compliance and to protest these state-level laws rather than implement costly and imperfect age verification tools.
Neither RTA nor ASACP is responsible for nor has any control over this situation.
YOU have the power to change these short-sighted political policies.
What Adults Can Do to Fight Back:
First of all, affected citizens in blocked states should contact their state government representatives to voice their discontent with these new age verification laws — many of which are mere copy-and-pasted boilerplate proposals promulgated by organized groups of religious zealots pushing an anti-porn agenda — and not effective measures for protecting children online.
When contacting lawmakers, emphasize your right as a consenting adult to consume the lawful content of your choice without having to divulge personally identifying information or otherwise compromise your privacy. Also, underscore your belief that parents should be held responsible for protecting the innocence of youth rather than government bureaucrats or media corporations that cater to adults.
Next, realize that while your chosen website may be unavailable in your state, countless others will be. Some sites will require age verification before admitting visitors from your jurisdiction. In contrast, others may continue to operate without complying with the law — or operate in a manner not regulated under a particular legislation.
You may also contact the blocked site directly, asking their operators to implement age verification protocols that will allow them to serve lawful adult consumers in your community once again.
As always, ASACP only encourages the consumption, production, and promotion of age-appropriate, lawful content where it is allowed by law and where children are kept out of and away from it.
ASACP Is Here to Help
“Due to technological advances and policymakers’ desire to assume tasks traditionally belonging to parents, such as protecting their children, online age verification mandates are becoming increasingly commonplace in the U.S. and beyond,” ASACP Executive Director Tim Henning stated. “It is ASACP’s goal to do what we can to ensure that global age verification laws are designed to protect children while not preventing adults from their right to consume and enjoy adult entertainment.”
In recent meetings with the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, ASACP discussed the array of convoluted state-level age verification laws in the U.S., where instead of a unified and comprehensive national solution for protecting children online, individual jurisdictions have implemented unique mandates, providing unnecessary hurdles for digital media publishers and consumers alike.
Through advocacy, education, and coalition building, the Woodhull Freedom Foundation fights censorship and works to eliminate discrimination based on gender, sexual identity, or family form and protects the right to engage in consensual sexual activity and expression.
During these discussions, Henning reported a significant increase in email complaints to RTA from U.S. states that have recently enacted age verification mandates.
“These complaints are mainly from people trying to access Pornhub or other tube sites,” Henning said. “These sites have blocked visitors from these states in protest, rather than using age verification to allow compliant access to adult citizens in these states.”
For the association, one point of concern is that the publishers of these sites have not educated and engaged their audience in these states about the issue and its nuances. They have not put a statement on the page these citizens land on to better educate them about why they are being blocked, who is responsible for it, and what they can do about it.
“These citizens see the link to RTA and end up on our site believing that RTA or ASACP is blocking them. They are unaware that these states’ governments have mandated the restriction,” Henning explained. “This is compounded by the fact that Pornhub and its parent company Aylo’s other tube sites are now blocking these jurisdictions to protest state-level age verification legislation.”
In search of a solution, ASACP is partnering with Woodhull Freedom Foundation to create an educational campaign focused on these issues. This campaign will better inform the citizens of states subject to age verification mandates and those of other jurisdictions yet to impose such laws.
The Role of RTA and How It Helps Children, Parents, and Industry Professionals
ASACP created the Restricted To Adults (RTA) meta-labeling system in 2006 in response to U.S. Congressional demands that the industry “do something” about children’s unauthorized access to adult-oriented content on the Internet. The system provides an easy and free solution for parents seeking to protect their kids by embedding a meta tag into the coding of an app or website page that purposefully triggers accessible and commonly used parental and institutional filtering software.
“Parental filters” (also used by schools, libraries, and many corporate networks) proactively block questionable content and are built into most web browsing software and mobile operating systems.
RTA eliminates the guesswork in these systems by affirmatively stating, “This site contains adult-oriented content that is unsuitable for minors.” This allows for targeted online child protection without falsely or overly flagging content.
While no technological solution will be 100 percent effective in preventing a hormone-driven older teen from accessing content intended for adults only, RTA is fully effective at preventing younger children and more sensitive adult viewers from accidental exposure to explicit materials. RTA is now used by literally billions of web pages and apps, and it’s free for parents and publishers to use, thanks to the generosity of ASACP’s sponsors. It is up to caring parents (and concerned network administrators) to use their existing tools to create a safer space for children as they live their daily digital lives.
“At ASACP, we truly believe that parents and caregivers play a vital role in safeguarding their children online, taking charge of their digital experiences,” Henning added. “For nearly 30 years, we’ve championed accessible and powerful parental filtering solutions, as detailed on our parental guidelines page.”
“The dedication of the adult entertainment industry to this cause further strengthens our mission,” he concluded. “Together, we empower parents with the knowledge and tools necessary to ensure a safer digital environment for their children, fostering confidence and peace of mind for families everywhere!”
To learn how your company can help protect itself by protecting children, email tim@asacp.org.
