Amid the cultural upheaval of COVID-19 and what has turned out to be one of the most eventful years in modern history, a dehumanizing and predatory perversion of technology has been spreading in the darkness of our communities: pornography. While the out-of-sight nature of pornography makes it is easier to shrug off its insidiousness, especially given the social unrest of the moment, the rise in predatory marketing plans and expanded pornography use should not be left alone because of the monumental human dignity implications.

As the coronavirus lockdowns went into effect throughout the world in March, Pornhub, the world’s largest online pornography provider, announced that they were providing users in Italy free access and subscriber privileges due to the nation’s outbreak and isolation. The company has also provided similar access to users in other nations such as Spain and France. In light of the free and open access to this pornographic content, Pornhub self-reported on their official blog that daily usage increased by 38-61% throughout these European countries, which led them to also claim that “people all over Europe were happy to have distractions while quarantined at home.” According to the company’s June analytics report, “worldwide traffic to Pornhub continues to be much higher than it was before the Coronavirus pandemic spread worldwide.”

The Rundown

TikTok sues Trump administration over US ban – The Verge

TikTok has announced that it is suing the Trump administration after President Trump’s executive order banning all transactions with the viral app’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, claiming that the executive order violates due process and does not provide ample evidence of national security risks.

Facebook blocks Thai access to group critical of monarchy – BBC

After Thailand’s government threatened to pursue legal action against Facebook, the social media giant blocked access to a group with over a million members that discussed the nation’s monarchy. This move comes amidst nationwide protests against the Thai government.

New Zealand stock exchange halted by cyber-attack – BBC

Two days in a row, the New Zealand stock exchange was thrown offline by a foreign cyber attack. Denial of service attacks (DDoS) disrupt network systems by overwhelming their servers with online traffic, causing them to falter or crash.

New federal centers announced for AI and quantum computing – Axios

The White House has announced a pledge of $1 billion to further research in artificial intelligence and quantum science. This investment will fund 12 federal research centers, seven of which will be established by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and will focus on AI research.

Other Resources:

5 concepts to know about human rights abuses in China – ERLC.com

Cybersecurity is a Moral Necessity – Providence