Didn't we face something like this a few years ago? I remember Colorado had a law banning online gambling - or attempting to - when I lived there. One reason I stopped promoting it. Isn't it American Express that still refuses to pay for porn?
As to the tobacco/alcohol thing, each state has a method of taxing and regulating it. Ordering it online defeats that purpose and that makes them very mad. With alcohol, there are many states you cannot order from or have delivered to. The various legit websites have all the information to see if you *can* order from them. Texas is so strange - we have wet and dry counties and cities. I live in a semi-dry county. The small towns have package stores and the grocery/convenience stores can carry some alcohol. No bars in this county, though.. we have to go to the neighboring county or visit a private club like the Elks or VFW. We have one county near Lubbock that has a very strict sheriff.. if he catches you with alcohol in his very dry county, you do time. No 3.2 beer for you in that area!
I can certainly understand the sale of substances that are toxic or lethal - meaning drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol. But... how many young people have died from porn? Seriously now... many people pick up a lethal tobacco or alcohol habit long before the legal age, but... what real physical or mental harm does viewing pornography do? If a parent choses to ignore what their kids are doing on the internet that is not my responsibility. All of my sites are appropriately labeled so that responsible parents can block access to them using filters.
When I first started in this business, I had a very nasty letter from an angry parent about how evil I was for having these images on a website where their child could access them. The site was properly labeled with a warning, along with the correct metatags. The email I sent back to that parent was along the lines of how irresponsible they were for not supervising a minor, for teaching their child to lie (saying they were of age when they were not), and that if I heard one more peep, I would report them to the local law enforcement for contributing to the deliquency of a minor. Gotta love it when fools use their real ISP emails! I never did hear a word back.
Sadly, we have a very conservative climate in this country right now, and something like this could well happen. Makes me glad my domain is hosted in Canada!
|