"ID, please!"

How the war on porn is endangering the free web

The porn blackout is now spreading further and further.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/eugenepartyzan, Patryk Kosmider – stock.adobe.com)

"ID, please": millions of internet users in the USA now have to identify themselves if they want to access pornographic content - to protect children, as conservatives claim. However, critics fear that there is a broader agenda behind the age controls that could turn the internet as we know it upside down.

"As you may know, your elected officials require us to verify your age before we grant you access to our site," porn star Cherie DeVille says - fully clothed - in a video on Pornhub, which the site serves to millions of visitors in the US instead of the usual fare. And that's all you can see, because in response to laws passed in numerous US states that require age verification, Pornhub has pulled the plug itself as a precaution - Krone+ reported.