PTC Petitions AT&T to Stop Airing Child-Themed Pornography

LOS ANGELES (November 11, 2021) – The Parents Television and Media Council (PTC) has launched a petition to AT&T calling on CEO John Stankey to stop producing and distributing hardcore pornographic content, and especially pornographic content that depicts underage characters.

“It is past time that entertainment companies like AT&T stop profiting from programs that can be considered child pornography,” said PTC Tim Winter.

“AT&T claims to have ‘divested’ its interest in HBO, which produces and distributes programming that depicts children in sexually-explicit content; and to have ‘divested’ its interest in DirecTV, which distributes hardcore pornography including themes of sexual relations between step-children, children and their step-parents, adults and babysitters, and between schoolteachers and students. But the reality is that AT&T still is the 70% majority owner of both companies, and as such, it has the ability to cease the sexualization and sexual exploitation of children for profit. Is pimping children really what AT&T stands for? We certainly hope not, and we are calling on AT&T to stop this practice immediately.”

HBO streams Euphoria, a teen-targeted series with high school-aged characters, that has shown 30 male penises, a graphic scene of a child rape, violent sex with choking, explicit scenes of oral sex, other nonstop sex and drug abuse.

Discovery+ streams Naked and Afraid of Love, a reality series featuring nude male and female contestants.

AT&T-owned DirecTV airs hardcore pornography including title that suggest inter-family sexual activity.

“We call on AT&T CEO John Stankey to immediately change course and stop peddling hardcore pornography and content that sexually exploits children. AT&T’s restructuring plans do nothing to absolve the company from its responsibility,” Winter added.