MAP Forum

United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously said in a 1964 opinion that he could not define pornography but “I know it when I see it.” Perhaps such a sentiment was permissible then, when pornography was mostly still photos of naked women or graphic descriptions of sex in novels or comic books. Today, it hardly seems as difficult to make meaningful distinctions. Given the enormous shift in how pornography is produced, distributed, and consumed, it’s time to reconsider the weak way we prosecute what amounts to a harmful, viral drug.