Pornhub blocked access in Mississippi and Virginia under age verification laws

Pornhub is now blocking people in Mississippi and Virginia from visiting its website due to laws that would require the service to verify their age. company They say It is preventing users from protesting the unfair enforcement of these new laws, claiming that sites that enforce the new rules will lose traffic to “irresponsible platforms” that “don’t follow the law, users who don’t take security seriously, and those who don’t often don’t even moderate content.”

The company wrote that traffic to Pornhub dropped by 80 percent after it implemented age verification in Louisiana earlier this year. After that experience, it decided to start its sites offline rather than enforce an age limit. In May, it blocked access to users in Utah over a similar law. techdirt reports This blackout also applies to other websites operated by the owner of Pornhub, such as RedTube.

Age verification laws are increasingly being implemented and passed across the US, especially in more conservative areas of the country, as a way of preventing children from viewing porn. The Free Speech Coalition, a trade group for the adult entertainment industry, notes the same laws Legislation was introduced in Texas, Montana, and Arkansas, as well as several other states—but failed to pass.

Laws generally require that adult websites verify the age of their visitors in a more rigorous manner than simply checking the 18+ age box. This may include checking government-issued ID.

by the Electronic Frontier Foundation pushed back Against age verification mandates, the laws have been criticized as a “surveillance system” that creates privacy issues for anyone using them. The group wrote, “Once information is shared to verify age, there is no way for a website visitor to be sure that the data they are handing over will not be retained and used by the website, or Will not be further shared or sold.” in March.