The War on Porn Regular Updates about the Assault on The Adult Industry
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WASHINGTON — A proposed six-page bill could put an end to one of the internet’s longest-standing legal protections.
U.S. Reps. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Calif., and Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., introduced the “Sunset Section 230 Act” Thursday, legislation that would repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. The lawmakers say the measure is intended to increase accountability for large technology companies by eliminating a federal protection often described as the “First Amendment of the internet” by civil liberties groups.
“These companies have been profiting at the expense of young people, who have been harassed and subjected to harmful content,” DeSaulnier said in a statement. Patronis added, “Big Tech has become a crooked dealer, pushing digital fentanyl to our kids while profiting from their addiction. Enough is enough.”
If approved by the Republican-controlled House and ultimately enacted, the bill would remove Section 230 from federal law and restore potential liability for companies over the actions of third-party users on platforms that host user-generated content. That would affect services across both mainstream and adult entertainment sectors.
The proposal is straightforward and runs six pages. Its provisions would amend portions of federal telecommunications law and other statutes to eliminate references to Section 230. It isn’t the first attempt to do so, either. A bill carrying the same name was introduced in late 2025 by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., with the same objective.
In February 2026, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt appeared on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and urged lawmakers from both parties to support the Durbin-Graham legislation. Gordon-Levitt had an unusual connection to the issue: He wrote, directed and starred in the 2013 romantic comedy Don Jon, which prominently featured Pornhub when the site was owned by MindGeek/Manwin.
The Durbin-Graham bill has so far been referred only to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, with no further action taken. Graham died on July 11.
