Net neutrality's impact on free porn could be significant, experts say

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What is net neutrality?

A vote by the Federal Communications Commission on December 14, 2017 will decide the fate of net neutrality. But what is it?

The Federal Communications Commission decision on Thursday to kill net neutrality rules that provide for equal access online to all types of content will likely reshape the multibillion dollar porn industry in the coming years.

It’s hard to overstate just how much porn is consumed online. Last year, Pornhub viewers alone watched over 91 billion videos and there were a total of 44,000 visits to the site per hour.

But now that internet service providers will be able to control what users can access and charge a range of prices based on the type of content, that could change.

Pornhub and similar sites have been vocal about fighting against the repeal of net neutrality.

"Without [net neutrality], the cable and wireless companies that control internet access will have unfair power to pick winners and losers in the market."

— Corey Price, VP of Pornhub

“Without [net neutrality], the cable and wireless companies that control internet access will have unfair power to pick winners and losers in the market,” Corey Price, vice president of Pornhub, told Motherboard.

The changes will impact anyone’s ability to watch porn and to upload their own pornographic content.

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Alex Hawkins, a spokesperson for xHamster, told Life Site News the repeal would favor the promotion online of a “heteronormative version of sexuality.”

Ending net neutrality will align the U.S. market with more conservative regimes across the world, not just in terms of porn, but also ideas about sexuality, Hawkins said.

Protesters in favor of net neutrality hold signs at an event in New York City. (Reuters)

Although it’s unlikely that porn would ever disappear entirely, it may cost more. Several states, including South Dakota, Virginia and Utah, have declared porn a “public health crisis.”

Despite the FCC’s 3-2 vote, several states are planning to file lawsuits to reinstate net neutrality rules and some Democrats in the U.S. Senate have vowed to do so as well.