Last week, The New York Times published an exposé that, in any morally serious culture, would have been met with a wave of bipartisan outrage and urgent congressional action. Instead, it was largely met with a blasé silence. The article, which detailed how Pornhub’s own internal documents reveal years of knowingly hosting—and profiting from—videos of children suffering nonconsensual acts, isn’t a revelation. It’s confirmation of the evil at work here.
We now have irrefutable evidence of what has long been plain to any honest observer: The commercial pornography industry is predatory, lawless, and deeply dependent on abuse. And yet it continues to operate in broad daylight, shielded by an outdated moral indifference and a confused understanding of free speech. //
Our freedoms require moral boundaries. The question isn’t whether we can restrict pornography. The question is whether we have the courage to do so. Though we may begin with urgent reforms to protect children and prosecute abuse, these are steps toward a larger aim: the complete dismantling of the pornography industry. //
These incremental steps are necessary because the political will to abolish pornography outright likely doesn’t yet exist. For instance, just this month, Utah senator Mike Lee introduced a measure that would redefine obscenity, paving the way for a nationwide prohibition on pornography. It’s not the first time Lee has initiated this process. He attempted it in both 2022 and 2024, but it has yet to gain traction in the Senate.
Any legal structure that normalizes pornography is ultimately incompatible with human flourishing. But every step toward being rid of it societally is a move in the right direction. There’s no First Amendment defense for rape. There’s no civil liberty that justifies monetized abuse. There’s no technological innovation that makes human degradation acceptable. //
We cannot claim to care about women while tolerating an industry that degrades them. We cannot say we value children while giving predators free rein. We cannot speak of freedom while sanctioning enslavement. //
The modern pornography industry isn’t built on free expression but on the illegal commodification of human beings. It relies on anonymity, impunity, and a legal vacuum in which abuse thrives. //
No version of this industry can be baptized, cleaned up, or redeemed. It mustn’t be tolerated, accommodated, or reformed—it must be dismantled. Our convictions, our witness, and our love for neighbor demand no less.
It’s time to ban pornography.
