Manga Site Blocks Adult Content, But Only for US and UK Users

A Japan-based online art platform is banning kink content for users based in the US and UK, as laws in these countries continue to tighten around sites that allow erotic content. 

Pixiv is an image gallery site where artists primarily share illustrations, manga, and novels. The site announced on April 22 that starting April 25, users whose account region is set to the US or UK will be subject to Pixiv’s new terms of use, “Restrictions for Healthy Expression in Specific Countries and Regions.”

The restrictions include several kinds of content that are illegal in the US, including sexualized depictions of minors and bestiality, as well as non-consensual depictions and deepfakes. But it also includes “content that appeals to the prurient interest, is patently offensive in light of community standards where you are located or where such content may be accessed or distributed, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value, or otherwise violates any applicable obscenity laws, rules or regulations.” This is an invocation of the Miller test, which determines non-constitutionally protected obscenity.

In the US, legislation is spreading rapidly that would levy heavy fines against sites that contain more than one third (and in some states, one quarter) sexual content if they don’t verify all users’ ages. 

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