Fellow American,
In these uncertain times, the Internet has been a lifeline for many families, including mine.
Online grocery orders. Video chats with friends and family. Religious services through livestreams. School lessons and check-ins. Getting important news and updates. Staying connected to our communities. And the list continues.
But sadly, due to Big Porn, a nearly $100 billion industry, the Internet can also bring obscene content, a threat against our kids and our families, directly into our homes ... and the U.S. government doesn’t seem willing to try to curtail it.
As a society, we’ve long recognized that some content and businesses must be age-restricted. We require merchants to verify patrons’ ages before they can purchase alcohol, gamble at a casino, or even enter an R-rated movie.
But the websites of Big Porn don’t require any age verification. Anyone online -- of potentially any age! -- is just a few clicks away from graphic pornography as a result.
Disturbingly, online pornography is reaching many children, despite the safeguards and protections that parents may try to put in place.
This may sound alarmist, but as I shared with you, even the Attorney General of the United States Bill Barr agreed. In a January interview he said, “Any young kid surfing the Internet today can come across some gross stuff, and so-called parental controls aren’t really working.”
Studies have shown that most young adults were first exposed to pornography as adolescents. In fact, half of college-aged men reported that they’d first viewed porn before age 13 -- and one study placed the average even lower at age 11.
Big Porn’s refusal to implement age verification safeguards has potentially exposed millions of children to sexually explicit videos. It’s tragic and disturbing -- and it must stop now.
If porn websites put age verification tools in place, just like countless other businesses do, we could all enjoy a cleaner, safer version of the Internet -- and feel better when our kids are online. Although Attorney General Barr has expressed his concern about online pornography, he hasn’t taken action. That’s why you and I must speak up now.
Terry Schilling
Executive Director
American Principles Project
2800 Shirlington Road, Suite 1201
Arlington, VA | 22206
Unsubscribe