Obscenity

 India's government on Friday warned social media firms including Facebook and YouTube to repeatedly remind users that local laws prohibit them from posting deepfakes and content that spreads obscenity or misinformation, two sources told Reuters. The warning was conveyed by deputy IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a closed-door meeting where he said many companies had not updated their usage terms despite 2022 rules that prohibit content "harmful" to children, obscene or that "impersonates another person". It comes…

Reddit has blocked access to mature content on the platform via third-party apps. The company's CEO Steve Huffman announced last month that access to mature…

In a fiery statement at the Cannes Film Festival, actor Sean Penn expressed his support for striking Hollywood writers and condemned studios' refusal to limit the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in scriptwriting as a "human obscenity." US actor Sean Penn attends a press conference for the film "Black Flies" during the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France.(AFP) During a press conference, Penn voiced his concerns about the growing use of AI in the industry, stating, "There are a…

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for freeSean Penn expressed solidarity with the ongoing Hollywood writers’ strike in a press conference at Cannes Film Festival on Friday (19 May).The Milk star, 62, is at the French Riviera event to promote his new movie, Black Flies, which shocked the audience with its abundant blood and gore this week.“The industry has been upending the writers, actors and directors for a very, very long…

Sean Penn has expressed his solidarity with the Writers Guild of America (WGA), whose members are currently on strike in a fight for improved wages and working conditions.Speaking at a press conference in Cannes for his new film, Black Flies, Penn said the guild had his “full support” as “the industry has been upending the writers and actors and directors for a very, very long time.”The WGA strike, which began more than a fortnight ago, shows no sign of reaching a resolution as its members seek a renegotiated contract in…

Tanya Lewis: Hi, and welcome to Your Health, Quickly, a Scientific American podcast series! Josh Fischman: On this show, we highlight the latest vital health news, discoveries that affect your body and your mind.   Every episode, we dive into one topic. We discuss diseases, treatments, and some controversies.  Lewis: And we demystify the medical research in ways you can use to stay healthy.  I’m Tanya Lewis. Fischman: I’m Josh Fischman. Lewis: We’re Scientific American’s senior health editors.  Fishman: On the show…

On Friday the Supreme Court issued a stay on a lower court ruling that revoked the Food and Drug Administration’s more than 20-year-old approval of mifepristone, one of two medications that have been prescribed together for decades in the U.S. to end unwanted pregnancies. The ruling temporarily preserves access to a safe and effective abortion medication while the case goes through appeals. Two weeks earlier Texas district judge Matthew Kacsmaryk had ruled in favor of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, a group of…

Photo: Darren McCollester (Getty Images)Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) proposed a bill on Tuesday that, if passed, would redefine what obscenity means nationwide, which could effectively decimate the porn industry. The Utah Republican filed the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act (IODA) based on the Communications Act of 1934, and stated in the IODAthat “obscenity is not protected speech under the First Amendment and is prohibited from interstate or foreign transmission under U.S. law.”He continued, “But obscenity is difficult to…

A Virginia judge has dismissed an unusual case that could have banned selling two books to children in the state. Following a hearing on Tuesday, Virginia Beach Circuit Court Judge Pamela Baskervill found that Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer: A Memoir and Sarah Maas’ A Court of Mist and Fury failed to meet the standard for obscenity under Virginia law — and, more consequentially, that the obscenity law itself was unconstitutional. Republican State Delegate Tim Anderson and former congressional candidate Tommy Altman…

| Lawsuits were filed last in May in Virginian courts that alleged that the graphic novel Gender Queer, written and drawn by Maia Kobabe, coloured by Phoebe Kobabe and published by Lion Forge/Oni Pres was "obscene for unrestricted viewing by minors." The criminal lawsuits were filed by lawyer Republican Virginia assembly delegate Tim Anderson on behalf of himself and Republican congressional candidate Tommy Altman who lost in the recent primary for Congress, citing an obscure state obscenity law. We have been following…