The War Against Porn: A New Frontier

By: Caleb Nadeau

In the last 20 years or so, pornography has been rampant throughout our society, thanks in large part to the spread of accessible technology. It has been impacting lives everywhere, even reaching the pews of the church. According to the Barna Group, over half of American Christians (75% of Christian men and 40% of Christian women) have consumed pornography, with many viewing it regularly.

The numbers are significantly higher for younger Christians (76% of 18-24 year olds), and 67% of pastors have a history of viewing pornography, with 11% admitting to still be struggling with it. (Source: Barna Group)

Young boys are often first exposed to porn at the age of 10, and girls at 13. The children who view pornography have been shown to have lower self-esteem as they become young adults. The percentage of high school and college students who consume pornography is staggeringly high.

This issue is still an ever-present source of struggle, a danger to the sanctity of Christians, and a monstrous sin that enslaves people’s lives. We know that as Christians, we will be tempted by the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. It is a constant battle of fighting indwelling sin. Yet we are called to obey His commandments and to flee from sexual immorality. We are to fear the Lord.

The good news is that in recent days, efforts have been made to curtail pornographic use and to keep it away from the eyes of children. Legislation has been proposed that would set up age verification (similar to bars and vape shops) for pornographic websites, which would make it difficult for young children to easily access.

Earlier in the year, Senator Mike Lee (Republican from Utah) proposed a bill that would make distributing and consuming pornography a crime. At the moment, pornography that “abuses, threatens, or harasses” is deemed illegal.

Legislation in Michigan known as the “Anticorruption of Public Morals Act,” which was introduced by Republican State Representative Josh Schriver (Oxford, MI) would prohibit the distribution of pornographic content on the internet, including videos, erotica, and AI-generated content. It would go even further and also remove anything that depicts a “disconnection between biology and gender.”

The problem with this legislation is that it would also significantly crack down on VPNs (an encryption tool that some use to work around pornographic or copyright restrictions) that Internet Service Providers would have to block or remove entirely. This would have a negative impact on remote work since many remote workers rely on that technology to maintain a secure connection.

While it is unlikely that such far-reaching legislation would come to fruition (the incarceration rate would probably be quite high based on the statistics mentioned earlier), there are still some internet policies and tools that have rolled out recently that can keep pornography away from those who seek to live uprightly and want to protect their families from all the filth on the internet.

There is another bill being discussed in the Michigan legislature that would require adult websites to have age verification set up. This has more potential to become a reality, and it is being implemented in several states already, 20 to be exact.

Michigan already has a law that was passed this summer (supported by both sides of the aisle) that prohibits the creation and distribution of non-consensual deepfake pornography. This is at least a step in the right direction. It would serve as a barrier to people releasing certain pornographic material.

Several technology companies have also taken action to allow control over people’s search content and ways to safeguard children online. Google’s advertising prohibits sexual content, and its Play Store also prohibits sexually explicit apps, including erotica.

Google’s Safe Search blurs out sexually explicit content, including images and videos. It can be filtered on and off, but the fact that these controls are now available is yet another positive sign of change. These controls were not available in years past, according to CNET news.

Apple offers features similar to Google, which blocks adult websites, and its browser (Safari) offers an extension (1Blocker) that is even more extensive in what it prohibits from being viewed. In the Screen Time setting, there are also controls that will set time limits for how long someone uses the device.

Parental control features exist on many platforms and devices. YouTube is using new AI technology to guess its users’ age before accessing blurred out material that is considered adult content. If the tool misidentifies the person’s age, there is an age verification feature that pops up that requires the user to provide a government ID, selfie, or credit card so that it can verify the person’s age. (Source: Kiplinger)

This opens up a can of worms, most certainly. Privacy advocates have voiced concerns over anti-porn legislation and technology policies as a gateway towards censorship. They might not be wrong in their concerns, but the fact that there are now more hoops and barriers to accessing internet pornography than there were before reveals a change of tide in how this issue is being treated.

There are also plenty of porn reducing resources available for phones and computers. Covenant Eyes (sends reports to accountability partners), BlockerX (comprehensive in scope), and Bulldog Blocker (Uses AI to scan and block content) are great resources that can help people struggling with addiction.

The Purity Browser offers content filtering that already blocks most well-known adult websites. According to its website, it offers text-only browsing and removes inappropriate keywords in search engines while maintaining user privacy. The default search engine is DuckDuckGo.

The prices of these tools vary. Purity Browser is $50 a year, and the others are priced at higher rates but still within an affordable range. Covenant Eyes is the most expensive at $184 a year.

Overall, the war against pornography access is just starting. The restrictions and regulations that are coming forward might not include everything, but they still allow adults to make conscious choices. Policing behavior can do some things, but only God can change the heart. We must remember this. Only the Lord can change the heart of a sinner.

Pray that the Lord changes the hearts and minds of nearly half of the American church that reports in honesty, their struggles with lust. And pray that those who might not be honest would recognize their need to repent and turn from the pursuit of sinful desires.

All have sinned and fallen short. By God’s grace, we are forgiven and washed clean when we ask for His forgiveness in sincerity. We must not abuse that grace or think of ourselves better than we ought. The truth is found in His word. Romans 13:14 states, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh regarding its lusts.”

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