I can’t say that I know of a single adult who isn’t against children being able to access porn. The question is: how exactly do you expect to achieve that without nuking porn as a whole?

First, if we decide that porn is just unacceptable to be available for anyone to see because children might access it, then who decides where to draw the line? Does hentai count? Or should it be banned as well? How about artistic nudity? Do painters get a pass? Does Hollywood get a pass? What about educational material? How realistic can a diagram of the reproductive system be before it’s bannable?

If we’re actually trying to restrict access to porn just from underage people, specifically, then how? I’m sure you’re aware of UK’s recent attempt to enforce online ID requirement under the premise of protecting children from harmful content. If that’s how, then why exactly does Spotify require an ID now? I’ve, personally, never gone there looking for porn. Same with YouTube, tbh. And also, why have people opposing such measures been visited, and questioned, by the British police?

Truth is: online ID is not about protecting children, it’s about governmental control, especially powerful for minority profiling. Anyone saying otherwise is either uninformed, lying, or just delusional. No one is opposing that children should get their access restricted, I’d say that’s not even just about porn, I don’t want to see children on Twitter, Reddit or TikTok either. The problem is doing that reliably, while respecting people’s right to privacy. Once there’s a real solution for that, I’ll support it. For now, the best solution we have is parental control, which was available for as long as internet has been a product. “Protect YOUR children” is no revolutionary take.