Concern grows that kids' exposure to explicit content may spike during coronavirus crisis

Updated: November 1, 2024 - 9:23am

<p>As millions of Americans are forced to live under stay-at-home or self-quarantine orders, advocates warn that children may have easy access to hardcore pornography.</p><p>Donna Rice Hughes, CEO of the anti-pornography nonprofit Enough is Enough, says that more free time for children typically means more screen time, which translates to families being vulnerable to dangers while their parents are busy working from home or unaware.</p><p>“Kids as young as 10 years old make up about 25% of the porn users of the under-18 category," she told David Brody, host of The Pod's Honest Truth. "They're looking at sexual assault content. They're looking at violent content. They're looking at anal sex. This has become their sex education model.”</p><p> URL to Embed</p><p>Research has long shown that the porn industry has led to exploitation of women and children.</p><p>Last month Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb.,sent a letter to the Department of Justice, Pornhub has, in a number of instances, been caught hosting content which showed “women and girls that were victims of trafficking being raped and exploited.”</p><p>Hughes has also been working with the Department of Justice to push them to enforce the hardcore obscenity laws, which they haven't done since the George W. Bush administration, when John Ashcroft was Attorney General.</p><p>She says parents need to use the parental control tools on devices, have regular conversations with kids about internet use, and always approve who their children can communicate with online, whether it be gaming, social media, or just by email.</p><p>“Sexual predators and sex traffickers are looking for vulnerable children constantly.”</p>