Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre says his party supports a bill from an independent senator that would require websites to verify users' ages before allowing them to see sexually explicit content — similar to laws recently passed in the U.K., several E.U. countries and numerous American states. But critics say the law would be disastrous for privacy and civil liberties — and industry titan Pornhub says it might force them to block Canadians from the site altogether, as they've already done in some of those other jurisdictions.
Sam Cole — a journalist with 404 Media and the host of Front Burner's upcoming spinoff podcast, The Pornhub Empire: Understood — explains the controversy around a seemingly simple push to protect children online, and what it could mean for the future of the online porn industry.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Is lobbying corrupting Canadian governments?
Is India hiring gangs to kill political enemies in Canada?
At the McGill encampment: Calls to divest from Israel
How Loblaw inspires anger, boycott
When Drake and Kendrick beef, who wins?
Backlash and walk backs: BC reverses drug policy
Mass graves uncovered at Gaza hospitals
‘F--k Trudeau,’ from fringe to mainstream
The growing wave of campus protests
Weekend Listen: Split Screen: Kid Nation
The keffiyeh’s history of culture and conflict
What to expect from Trump's 'hush money' trial
The ‘trad wives’ glamorizing life at home
After the airstrikes: Where do Iran and Israel go from here?
Is democracy at stake in India’s election?
Is high finance killing Hollywood?
A pregnant woman’s perilous journey out of Gaza
Were years of Canadian paternity tests just guesswork?
The Liberals' plan to fix the housing crisis
Israeli-Iranian shadow war breaks into the open
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Power & Politics
The Decibel
Economist Podcasts
The Daily
Up First