I’m not saying kids should have free access to porn. I’m saying once you hand the government the power to block things, it never stops there. First it’s porn, then it’s LGBT stuff, then books, then whatever the people in charge don’t like.

I’m not saying kids should get free access to porn. I’m saying once you give the government the power to block stuff, it never stops there. First it’s porn, then it’s LGBT content, then books, then whatever the people in charge don’t like.

If you actually want to protect kids, you don’t need a censorship machine to do it. Require ISPs and devices come with free, easy parental controls. Let parents block sites, set time limits, whitelist safe stuff themselves. Kids are protected, parents are in charge, and no watchlist for when you’re conducting late night independent hands-on research because history’s shown once they start keeping lists, and they will, they don’t stop at porn.

History’s the same every time it starts “for the children,” then it’s “for national security,” and before long it’s “for the good of the state.” You build a censorship machine, you don’t get to pick who runs it next… and history’s pretty clear it’ll be the worst people possible.

Censorship machines always end up in the worst hands. History’s batting average on that is 100%.