A few weeks ago, one of the world’s largest peddlers of pornography scored what they thought was a stunning victory for their cause. In retaliation against a new Utah state law and its commonsense provision that anyone accessing adult websites be an adult, MindGeek blocked their flagship site Pornhub from the entire state.  

You’d think that they would have gotten behind protecting minors, even if only for PR points. Even more baffling is thinking that self-blocking their explicit material harms the people they hope to punish. That is kind of like a neighbor who is too loud giving the silent treatment for being shushed. 

Pornography is an out-of-control scourge on society. It corrupts those who consume it, harms families, exploits women, and targets children who become addicted and confused. If all it takes to get it out of our communities is for states to propose a modest limit or two, like Utah did, more states should try it. Then maybe more companies would move out.