A group of lawmakers and conservative activists says the administration needs to start paying more attention to adult pornography. In a little-noticed move, Attorney General Eric Holder closed down the Obscenity Prosecution Task Force, a unit set up during the Bush administration to combat obscenity. It was set up due to pressure from conservatives about the proliferation of pornographic images on the Internet and never really had much success, but critics insist the move is a perfect example of how the White House has turned a blind eye to the issue. The Justice Department insists it is not giving up, but concedes that its priority involves child pornography since the multibillion dollar industry is now ubiquitous. Although the law against obscene material that violates community standards is still in full effect, it's much more difficult to find a jury these days that would be shocked by pornographic images that don't involve children. Under pressure from conservatives, the Bush administration created the task force to ensure that at least some obscenity cases not involving children were pursued. But even as it aggressively sought cases it mostly ended up pursuing small industry players, reports Politico. Lawyers for the adult industry praised the move to shut down the task force. "It just seems like, finally, the Department of Justice has caught up with the rest of the nation," one lawyer said.
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