Introduction

The title of this post does not fully capture the reality of the situation—at least, not yet. While it might seem unusual for a subreddit to engage in political discourse, the stakes of this upcoming election make it impossible to ignore. The 2024 US election could lead to policies that make illegal both the creation and sharing of pornography, a concern that must be at the forefront of our conversation. Central to this threat is Project 2025, a political agenda which proposes a policy blueprint that is poised to become a reality under any future Conservative Republican presidency. In light of this, it would be irresponsible to ignore the political ramifications that could alter the protections afforded to pornographic content. 

This is a lengthy post, but if you'd prefer to skip ahead, a summary (tl;dr) will be provided at the end. If you’re interested in specifically how your access to pornography may be impacted, feel free to skip to the later section “Pornography and 2025”. 

What is Project 2025?

The following section will discuss broadly what Project 2025 aims to do and how they plan to achieve these goals. It would be impossible for us to collate a comprehensive and flawless presentation that covers all angles and nuance. Instead, we will be presenting a broad overview that is well sourced and direct. We invite you to discuss any issues with further nuance with the comments below. 

Project 2025 is a federal policy agenda and blueprint for a radical restructuring of the executive branch crafted by The Heritage Foundation, a longstanding conservative organization known for its opposition to abortion, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, immigrants' rights, and racial equity. The plan is endorsed by influential conservative groups such as Moms for Liberty, Hillsdale College, Turning Point USA, and over 100 other right-wing organizations and think tanks. Project 2025’s largest publication, “Mandate For Leadership,” is a 900-page manual for reorganizing the entire federal government agency by agency to serve a conservative agenda. The "Mandate For Leadership" document will be directly referenced and sourced any time specific policy directions are mentioned, to ensure that no misleading claims are made.

Policy Positions

Project 2025 suggests that the HHS - United States Department of Health and Human Services - must end all support of “woke transgender activism” as well as abortion. It further aims to revoke what already limited rights currently afforded to LGBTQ individuals by removing all protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, and sex characteristics. Additionally, Project 2025 seeks to eliminate college grant programs, end all student loan forgiveness programs, and strip the Department of Education of its authority to oversee accreditation standards for educational institutions. Project 2025 also suggests that the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), responsible for weather data, should be dismantled and privatized. Project 2025 states that there is a "desire to infiltrate political appointees improperly into the high career civil service," and calls for granting former President Trump the unilateral power to fire federal employees under a new classification, Schedule F. This would turn typically apolitical positions into positions that are subject to the President's whim. 

Subversion of Democracy

Project 2025 aims to achieve many of these goals by subverting the democratic process through a variety of methods. While these are varied across the 900-page document and are impossible to condense into a singular statement, we will provide a few examples of these proposals and how they would facilitate the undermining of the American public’s will. Project 2025 seeks to weaken election security by reducing the powers and funding of CISA - the US Government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Project 2025 seeks to defund NPR and PBS, bypassing Congress and the sentiment of Americans, by suggesting that the President refuse to approve any budget which allows even “a penny” to these services. Project 2025 seeks to weaken even further the Federal Election Commission, removing the agency’s ability to litigate cases entirely. More broadly, the majority of Project 2025's policy recommendations bypass the need for Congressional approval, as they can be implemented through Executive Orders or existing executive powers. This concentration of authority in the executive branch raises significant concerns, as it allows sweeping changes to be enacted unilaterally, without the checks and balances typically provided by legislative oversight.

Trump and 2025

While Trump may distance himself from Project 2025, the creators of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation, proudly proclaim that Trump implemented 64 percent of policy recommendations during his term as President. The Heritage Foundation’s ties to Republican Presidents goes far back, the organization even claiming that President Reagan implemented two-thirds of their 2,000 policy recommendations from their 1981 published “Mandate for Leadership: Policy Management”. In addition, Project 2025, as highlighted by retired U.S. Air Force veteran , was shaped by 32 authors and two editors, 18 of whom held key positions within the Trump administration. Notable figures include Ken Cuccinelli, former Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; Christopher Miller, former U.S. Secretary of Defense; and Roger Severino, former Director of the Office for Civil Rights. These individuals, alongside other prominent contributors, played critical roles in shaping the policy vision outlined in this initiative, underscoring its deep connection to prior conservative governance and its potential future influence.

Even if Trump claims ignorance of the over 900-page document that is Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership, those within his orbit would undoubtedly move to implement its agenda. Many of the policies outlined in Trump’s Agenda 47 closely mirror the language and objectives set forth by Project 2025, signaling a clear alignment. Trump’s attempt to distance himself from Project 2025 is purely an egotistical play, aimed at avoiding the baggage the project carries—not because he opposes its contents or would refrain from enacting its policies should he return to office.

Pornography and 2025

On page 38 of the Mandate for Leadership manual, people who share or produce pornography are described as “child predators and misogynistic exploiters of women”, asserting that it “has no claim to First Amendment protection.” The document goes on to argue that "pornography should be outlawed," calling for the imprisonment of those who produce or distribute it. It conflates LGBTQ matters as inherently pornographic, and thus tacitly suggests that educators and public libraries which provide LGBTQ inclusive materials are peddling pornography, and should be registered sex offenders for doing so.  Additionally, it proposes that telecommunications and tech firms that allow pornography should be targeted for shutdown. Project 2025 portrays all LGBTQ inclusive materials as being pornographic, suggests that all pornography is the sexualization of minors, and finally calls for the death penalty for the sexual abuse of minors. In doing this, Project 2025 has established that, in their opinion, the death penalty is a just punishment for the creation of pornography. 

As noted earlier, Project 2025 seeks to eliminate First Amendment protections for pornography. This effort is legally feasible because the modern U.S. landscape of pornographic content exists largely due to judicial interpretations of the First Amendment. According to the Miller Test, established by the courts, material can only be deemed obscene and stripped of First Amendment protection if it meets a strict three-part criteria. In practice, pursuing obscenity charges is rare, as proving violations is both challenging and undesirable for most administrations. However, this may become significantly easier due to the majority conservative Supreme Court which has already shown itself willing to take actions which a majority of Americans oppose. Meanwhile, Trump’s own Agenda 47 makes clear his intent to remove federal employees that he finds to be "corrupted by the Obama-Biden administration", broadly threatening the dismissal of thousands of Americans currently employed in government positions, so that he may place employees by his own standards, which would be backed by courts already known for upholding broad executive immunity. This restructuring could pave the way for a reevaluation of long-standing legal protections for pornography.

All together this means that NSFW artists and users who share content within communities like this subreddit, or entire platforms like Reddit, Discord, and PornHub could face legal repercussions. The conflation of pornography, transgenderism, and child sexual abuse—raises grave concerns about civil rights in America. The chilling effect of these policies is further heightened by the call for the death penalty, which the 234 Conservative judges appointed by Trump may be all too willing to endorse.

The implications of Project 2025 are far-reaching, and its assault on First Amendment protections marks a dangerous shift toward authoritarian governance, with devastating consequences for free expression, civil liberties, and LGBTQ rights in particular.

What You Can Do

While this is certainly not news to many, the most obvious, direct, and effective thing you can do to ensure your rights are protected is to register and practice your right to vote. The deadline for registration in many areas is only a few days away from the date of this post. Even if you believe you are already registered to vote, it is advisable to verify your status periodically. Remember that your voting choices are private, undisclosed to even your spouse, partner, and family.

We encourage all readers - no matter your political alignments - to participate in your elections, local and federal. Many elections are decided by a shockingly small margin, even in areas which you may consider to be overwhelmingly given to one political leaning. With a third to half of eligible Americans not participating in elections, your vote has the potential to make a significant impact. We believe that an educated public is more than capable of making the correct choice on these matters, our suggestions beyond that are not needed. 

More Resources to Learn About Project 2025

• Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership
• “Project 2025: A Hellish Legal Vision For America ft. Liz Dye” - Legal Eagle, YouTube

TL;DR:

Most pertinent to this community, Project 2025 calls for the criminalization of pornography and proposes extreme actions against those involved in the production or distribution of pornographic content, even suggesting the death penalty. As a conservative policy agenda, Project 2025 also aims to limit the reproductive rights of women, roll back LGBTQ rights, defund educational programs, privatize agencies, and weaken election security safeguards. Despite attempts to distance himself from the document, former President Trump and his administration implemented many policies aligned with the Heritage Foundation, the primary architects behind Project 2025, in his first term.

Project 2025 could have far-reaching consequences for NSFW artists, communities, and community members that create and share explicit content. We strongly encourage all eligible U.S. citizens, regardless of your political leanings, to take action by registering and voting.