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It'll be interesting to see if they stick to this globally. The distinctly American prudishness regarding sex is almost a mirror image of large parts of the wo

It'll be interesting to see if they stick to this globally. The distinctly American prudishness regarding sex is almost a mirror image of large parts of the world with respect to cinematic violence. It's part of why you can be so sure these west coast companies will never monopolise the market in Germany, for example.

leobelle 13y ago
> "American prudishness" This is just name calling, and Americans get shit on for being culturally insensitive... Pornography is awful stuff. It exploits the way our minds work, and ruins peace and happiness. This isn't religiosity, I don't believe in the supernatural. It's just something I've come to learn as I've gotten older.
- geetee 13y ago
  Close your eyes.
- gtaylor 13y ago
  > Pornography is awful stuff. It exploits the way our minds work, and ruins peace and happiness. Is it OK for you to tell someone else what they are allowed to watch? That's the sticking point, and what is being done by Google (and so many others). You may not like porn, but there are a massive number that are OK with it. Is it right for you to impose your morals on others? Definitely don't take this as inflammatory, but I personally (as an American) don't want my morals and beliefs forced on others. I think a lot of problems could be solved if everyone gave this a shot. Different strokes, etc.
  - GnwbZHiU 13y ago
    be cool mate. "pornography is awful stuff" is a statement, it's allright to express what people have in mind. No one force you anything.
  - GnwbZHiU 13y ago
    On the other hand, you also can't impose Google (and others) to sell porn. you may like porn, but some sellers don't like it. so what's the problem?
    - gtaylor 13y ago
      Nobody is imposing porn selling on Google.
  - sdegutis 13y ago
    > I personally (as an American) don't want my morals and beliefs forced on others Impossible. At the end of the day, all laws and rules come from someone's morals and beliefs, regardless of who that is or what they've named those morals and beliefs.
    - sdegutis 13y ago
      I honestly can't even guess why someone downvoted that. Morals/beliefs are a fundamental part of human thinking. Whether it's named, whether it comes from a religion or just a person's own experience in life, it always exists in the brain. That's kind of a fact. So, pretty confused about the downvote right about now...
      - gtaylor 13y ago
        Because it's a bit petty and flat out wrong. Many laws exist not for moral reasons, but to keep the whole system running. If we were allowed to murder one another without consequences, society would be vastly different. If we were allowed to cheat on our taxes without punishment, the system itself may collapse. While there are certainly buffoons legislating their morals on others, I think the greater chunk of modern legislation is corporate/profit driven rather than this pressing of morals you mentioned. There are, of course, exceptions, but I think your comments harped on only one motivator (of many) for legislation.
        sdegutis 13y ago
        > If we were allowed to murder one another without consequences, society would be vastly different There's an inherent belief that the difference in society would be bad. Is that true? Bad is pretty qualitative, so it comes down to a belief. > If we were allowed to cheat on our taxes without punishment, the system itself may collapse. There's an inherent belief that "the system" is a good thing, and that we don't want it to collapse. But again, this is a subjective belief, not universally held. Your comment is based on implicit beliefs of what is "best" for society (or even humanity) as a whole. I'm pretty sure you can't prove that your beliefs are "correct", because I'm sure most people would argue that subjective beliefs can't be correct or incorrect, they're just beliefs.
- humbledrone 13y ago
  s/our minds/my own mind/ Unless you plan to cite some peer-reviewed research on that, you should probably not generalize to me and everyone else. If you find that porn is bad for you, by all means avoid it. But don't pretend that you know it's bad for other people too.
  - sremani 13y ago
    http://www.yourbrainonporn.com/cambridge-university-brain-scans-find-porn-addiction http://www.yourbrainonporn.com/cambridge-university-brain-sc...
  - tiredoflurking 13y ago
    The "Report of the Surgeon General's Workshop on Pornography and Public Health" in 1987 identifies a clear and present danger in pornography, among other studies.
- girvo 13y ago
  You're more than welcome to think that, but I'm an adult, and you shouldn't get to decide what I can and can't see, anymore than I should be allowed to do the same to you.
- sremani 13y ago
  The abrasive effects on Pornography on human brain for some strange reason does not get enough attention in the media. I like what Google and Apple are doing, at least there is a first line of defense.
- yetanotherphd 13y ago
  Porn is wonderful and liberating. Booth babes are degrading and misogynistic.
gtaylor 13y ago
That prudish stereotype is a bit over-blown by a smaller (but louder) subset of Americans that really are prudish. I'm in the "bible belt" (southeast US), and even here there's plenty of people who don't get too up in arms about this kind of stuff. The internet has been the great equalizer for the younger generations. Smut, graphic video, violence, and all sorts of other things are only a keystroke away.
- gtaylor 13y ago
  Also, there are plenty of non-US countries that now have legislated in filtering at the ISP level (which the US doesn't mandate on a federal level). This hasn't been updated since the UK adopted their silly filter, but here's a handy reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Internet_Censorship_World_Map.svg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Internet_Censorship_World_...
- Ensorceled 13y ago
  It's not a "stereotype" when it's enforced with the full weight of the law in some cases and by self censorship in many others. If Google and Apple feel the need to restrict adult content to the level they do it's not really a stereotype; it's a real problem.
mikeash 13y ago
> The distinctly American prudishness regarding sex is almost a mirror image of large parts of the world with respect to cinematic violence. Don't American blockbusters, chock full of graphic violence, do quite well overseas in general? That seems to imply that the attitude towards cinematic violence is not the same at all.
- nolok 13y ago
  > chock full of graphic violence In France we don't have any special opposition to either sex or graphic violence in movies (if you check the minimal age required for some movies on imdb, you might be surprised by the amount of movies we put at 12 years old when other countries do 16 or 18), and Hollywood movie have become "tame" enough that dubber (movies are dubbed in french) often add swearing to make it sounds more realistic ... Hell, even Die Hard turned PG-13.

leobelle 13y ago

> "American prudishness" This is just name calling, and Americans get shit on for being culturally insensitive... Pornography is awful stuff. It exploits the way our minds work, and ruins peace and happiness. This isn't religiosity, I don't believe in the supernatural. It's just something I've come to learn as I've gotten older.

geetee 13y ago
Close your eyes.
gtaylor 13y ago
> Pornography is awful stuff. It exploits the way our minds work, and ruins peace and happiness. Is it OK for you to tell someone else what they are allowed to watch? That's the sticking point, and what is being done by Google (and so many others). You may not like porn, but there are a massive number that are OK with it. Is it right for you to impose your morals on others? Definitely don't take this as inflammatory, but I personally (as an American) don't want my morals and beliefs forced on others. I think a lot of problems could be solved if everyone gave this a shot. Different strokes, etc.
- GnwbZHiU 13y ago
  be cool mate. "pornography is awful stuff" is a statement, it's allright to express what people have in mind. No one force you anything.
- GnwbZHiU 13y ago
  On the other hand, you also can't impose Google (and others) to sell porn. you may like porn, but some sellers don't like it. so what's the problem?
  - gtaylor 13y ago
    Nobody is imposing porn selling on Google.
- sdegutis 13y ago
  > I personally (as an American) don't want my morals and beliefs forced on others Impossible. At the end of the day, all laws and rules come from someone's morals and beliefs, regardless of who that is or what they've named those morals and beliefs.
  - sdegutis 13y ago
    I honestly can't even guess why someone downvoted that. Morals/beliefs are a fundamental part of human thinking. Whether it's named, whether it comes from a religion or just a person's own experience in life, it always exists in the brain. That's kind of a fact. So, pretty confused about the downvote right about now...
    - gtaylor 13y ago
      Because it's a bit petty and flat out wrong. Many laws exist not for moral reasons, but to keep the whole system running. If we were allowed to murder one another without consequences, society would be vastly different. If we were allowed to cheat on our taxes without punishment, the system itself may collapse. While there are certainly buffoons legislating their morals on others, I think the greater chunk of modern legislation is corporate/profit driven rather than this pressing of morals you mentioned. There are, of course, exceptions, but I think your comments harped on only one motivator (of many) for legislation.
      - sdegutis 13y ago
        > If we were allowed to murder one another without consequences, society would be vastly different There's an inherent belief that the difference in society would be bad. Is that true? Bad is pretty qualitative, so it comes down to a belief. > If we were allowed to cheat on our taxes without punishment, the system itself may collapse. There's an inherent belief that "the system" is a good thing, and that we don't want it to collapse. But again, this is a subjective belief, not universally held. Your comment is based on implicit beliefs of what is "best" for society (or even humanity) as a whole. I'm pretty sure you can't prove that your beliefs are "correct", because I'm sure most people would argue that subjective beliefs can't be correct or incorrect, they're just beliefs.
humbledrone 13y ago
s/our minds/my own mind/ Unless you plan to cite some peer-reviewed research on that, you should probably not generalize to me and everyone else. If you find that porn is bad for you, by all means avoid it. But don't pretend that you know it's bad for other people too.
- sremani 13y ago
  http://www.yourbrainonporn.com/cambridge-university-brain-scans-find-porn-addiction http://www.yourbrainonporn.com/cambridge-university-brain-sc...
- tiredoflurking 13y ago
  The "Report of the Surgeon General's Workshop on Pornography and Public Health" in 1987 identifies a clear and present danger in pornography, among other studies.
girvo 13y ago
You're more than welcome to think that, but I'm an adult, and you shouldn't get to decide what I can and can't see, anymore than I should be allowed to do the same to you.
sremani 13y ago
The abrasive effects on Pornography on human brain for some strange reason does not get enough attention in the media. I like what Google and Apple are doing, at least there is a first line of defense.
yetanotherphd 13y ago
Porn is wonderful and liberating. Booth babes are degrading and misogynistic.

gtaylor 13y ago

That prudish stereotype is a bit over-blown by a smaller (but louder) subset of Americans that really are prudish. I'm in the "bible belt" (southeast US), and even here there's plenty of people who don't get too up in arms about this kind of stuff. The internet has been the great equalizer for the younger generations. Smut, graphic video, violence, and all sorts of other things are only a keystroke away.

gtaylor 13y ago
Also, there are plenty of non-US countries that now have legislated in filtering at the ISP level (which the US doesn't mandate on a federal level). This hasn't been updated since the UK adopted their silly filter, but here's a handy reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Internet_Censorship_World_Map.svg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Internet_Censorship_World_...
Ensorceled 13y ago
It's not a "stereotype" when it's enforced with the full weight of the law in some cases and by self censorship in many others. If Google and Apple feel the need to restrict adult content to the level they do it's not really a stereotype; it's a real problem.

mikeash 13y ago

> The distinctly American prudishness regarding sex is almost a mirror image of large parts of the world with respect to cinematic violence. Don't American blockbusters, chock full of graphic violence, do quite well overseas in general? That seems to imply that the attitude towards cinematic violence is not the same at all.

nolok 13y ago
> chock full of graphic violence In France we don't have any special opposition to either sex or graphic violence in movies (if you check the minimal age required for some movies on imdb, you might be surprised by the amount of movies we put at 12 years old when other countries do 16 or 18), and Hollywood movie have become "tame" enough that dubber (movies are dubbed in french) often add swearing to make it sounds more realistic ... Hell, even Die Hard turned PG-13.