Attacks on Free Speech Start with Attacks on P0rnography (pssst, that includes pole dancing)

Before we begin this post, we want to include some definitions/recaps of previous IPIA resource posts related to Project 2025, SESTA/FOSTA, and how American conservatives attack the p0rnography industry as a gateway to suppress the First Amendment which protects free speech.

Pole dancing, regardless of how you personally pole dance, will always be associated with SW. This is an issue for all polers, not just those that dance in a club or engage in other forms of SW.

Definitions:

p0rnography: The United States does not have a federal definition for p0rnography. The closest thing to a legal definition of p0rn we found is on Cornell Law’s Legal Information Site (here) which defines p0rnography as material that depicts nudity or sexual acts for the purpose of sexual stimulation.

Communications and Decency Act of 1996 Section 230: stipulates that the provider of an interactive computer service (such as a social media platform) shall not be considered the publisher or producer of information provided by a content provider. In simple terms, the site host is not responsible for user-generated content.

SESTA/FOSTA: A set of acts (Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) and Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA)) passed under the first Trump administration. These laws suspend the protection of Section 230 of the Communications and Decency Act of 1996 and make sites responsible for user generated content if they are perceived as promoting prostitution. State Law Enforcement can now prosecute cases at their discretion.

Current Issue in the Supreme Court

Free Speech v. Paxton is currently (as of June 2025) with the Supreme Court in the United States. 

This is important because Supreme Court decisions can immediately impact laws across the United States. 

The Free Speech Coalition, which is the primary trade association for the p0rnography industry, started by suing the state of Texas over a law requiring p0rnographic websites doing business in Texas “use reasonable age verification methods” to verify a customer is 18 or older.

The law in question is Texas Law H.B. 1181, which aims to have people upload personally identifiable information, such as a state issued ID with their date of birth, before being able to access p0rnography.

The law applies to any commercial entity, including social media platforms. 

The law allows civil penalties of $10,000 a day for an entity that operates a website in violation of the law, and a civil penalty of up to $250,000 if one or more minors is able to access “sexual material harmful to minors” because the site fails to implement age verification.

Requiring Age Verification Can Suppress Free Speech

At the moment, most sites only have an age verification where a user is asked to input their birthday; if the user input is over 18, they are allowed to enter the site.

Increasing the requirements to include an upload of a government-issued document restricts this information to those who have a government-issued document. While the Texas law stipulates that websites are not allowed to retain the information after age is verified (for threat of a fine), some sites may retain the information anyway and pay the fine because that information can be used for targeted ads.

Per the ACLU, even those who don’t watch p0rn could be affected as the language of the law is so vague that social media sites like Reddit, some R-rated movies, renaissance art, and websites that talk about sexual health could be targeted. 

If AI is used to find/ban material, things can get very out of hand. One example of profanity filters going over the top is the word “bone” being banned at a virtual Paleontology conference in 2020.

Potential Impacts on the Pole Industry

If users are required to upload age verification documentation, it follows that content creators will have to do the same.

Many SWers and creators of p0rnography use pseudonyms or stage names for anonymity and protection. Forcing them to upload a government ID increases the chances of their information being leaked or breached.

Another potential outcome of this is social media platforms banning anything that *could be considered* p0rnographic.

Since social media sites are run by humans who historically have bowed to the US government, they may ban all images or accounts that could be considered p0rnographic.

This means if you’ve ever been shadow-banned for using a banned hashtag, had content removed for “violating community standards” your account could be a target.

For many of us in the pole industry, social media platforms are the gateway to getting people to book your classes, join your mailing list, or purchase your product. If sites crack down because they fear potential legal repercussions, it will be even harder to exist as a pole professional.

What You Can Do

Sometimes (all the time) it feels overwhelming to deal with things like this that are largely out of our direct control (unless you are a Supreme Court Justice or other lawmaker).

Here are some specific action items you can do:

• Stay informed. Being informed does not mean being stuck to the newscycle which we know can be negatively impactful on mental health. Take breaks but please don’t disengage completely.
• Consider contacting your local and state-level representatives and explain to them how this hurts you as a constituent.
• Support small pole industry businesses and pole-preneurs! Check out the IPIA directory as a starting point. The PoleCon website also maintains a directory of pole businesses.
• If you are a pole-preneur, build your mailing list and find other ways (such as attending events – online/inperson/free/paid/whatever you can do!) to meet people and build your network outside of social media.

 

We ultimately don’t know what the Supreme Court will decide in this particular case—or how it could actually impact the pole industry.

We also don’t know how other future cases around p0rnography could impact how and where we advertise services and in how and where we interact as a community. At a minimum, finding ways to reach your customers outside of social media is always a good idea! 

 

UPDATE as of June 27, 2025: The Supreme Court upheld the Texas law requiring age verification. What happens next? 24 other states already have age verification rules. This could make it possible for a federal ban or more restrictions that could impact the pole industry. At this point, we just don’t know.