they literally can though. US politicians are famously buyable

This is the most absurd, ahistoric line of magical thinking that I've read in weeks. Why does pornhub simply not just buy politicians at the politician store? A real head scratcher, I'm really thonking now.

The answer is so simple. In the states that pornhub has blocked, the religious lobby and christian nationalists have more political power and capital than the porn industry. Every one of the states highlighted in red has a long history of sexual repression.

In Utah, a 1973 law made it illegal to have premarital sex until 2019, punishable by a misdemeanor and $1000 fine.
In Texas, it is illegal to buy or sell any dildo or artificial vagina sex toy.
In North Carolina, it is illegal for a man/woman couple to live in the same house if they are not married (cohabitation).

These are only a few examples. The states colored in red on the map have long history of discrimination against LGBT people, laws limiting or banning abortion, laws making it harder to divorce an abusive spouse, etc.

Here's a map of states that have banned access to gender affirming care for transgender people. It's literally the same states that have been blocked by pornhub. This map shows that 25 states have banned gender affirming care. 10 of the 12 states which have been blocked by pornhub also have banned access to gender affirming care.

https://www.hrc.org/resources/attacks-on-gender-affirming-care-by-state-map

Here's a map of states which have banned or heavily restricted abortion access. The map shows 21 states have banned or highly restricted access to abortion. Oh it's the same map again. 9 of 12 states which have been blocked by pornhub have banned or extremely limited access to abortions.

https://www.cnn.com/us/abortion-access-restrictions-bans-us-dg/index.html

Here's a map of states where gay marriage is prohibited by the state constitution, although protected by federal law (for now). Same map again? What are the odds? 11 of the 12 states which have been blocked by pornhub also ban gay marriage in their state constitution.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_law_in_the_United_States_by_state