this post was submitted on 03 Jan 2024
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Pornhub and its related companies aren't the only "normal" porn sites out there, there are thousands of sites not owned by the parent company. These are just the big names everyone knows. Blocking access to porn on a statewide basis is only really possible at the ISP level, and of course those are private companies not owned by the state (in most cases). Even then, a cheap VPN would be able to get around that.
It's akin to standing next to someone and telling them not to breathe your air.
I am sure that a VPN can obfuscate my location. But its a hassle that most people will not do. And you must not be in Virginia, because you would know that the ISP did not need to get involved. Use your vpn and spoof as in VA. You will see the companies comply with the order to remain legal. The reputable ones have a vested interest to stay legal, and can be reached via legal means. The ones that pedal revenge porn and other exploitation? Not so much. The amount of sites that are not reachable is very large, when your search would begin at the 4th page of a search engine query for porn, you are no longer in safe waters
VPNs are super easy to use because most of the popular ones (NordVPN, Private Internet Access, etc...) are made for the non-tech savvy. Pay a few bucks a month and leave it as "always on" and boom, all the porn you want! Also, I think you're misunderstanding the drive people, especially men, have to watch porn. A teenage boy would definitely figure this out in a heartbeat.
Of course the "reputable" porn sites don't want to get into a legal battle with the state, that's why they comply. What I'm saying though is it's a stupid law since they can't block every porn site. I'd say most consumers don't care about the delineation between "legal porn" and revenge porn/other exploitation since it's very difficult to discern between the two, unless it's super obvious. Pornhub is just one site, there are tons of "good" sites out there besides it that are easily found on the first page of Google. I highly doubt people are going multiple pages deep just for a porn link.