The popular adult website, Pornhub, has blocked users in Utah in response to a new law that requires commercial age-verification systems. The law, known as “SB287”, was passed in March and mandates websites containing “a substantial portion of material that may be harmful to minors” to verify the age of their users.
The law aims to hold porn websites accountable for making their content available to minors. MindGeek, the parent company of Pornhub, also blocked other adult sites in Utah in protest of the law.
Instead of adult videos, users in Utah are greeted with a message that explains the reason for the website’s opposition to the mandate. The statement explains that while safety and compliance are of the utmost importance, giving one’s ID card each time a user visits an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting users.
The statement argues that the requirement for age verification could drive users “to sites with far fewer safety measures,” and could put children and users’ privacy at risk. The message concludes with a call for Utah policymakers to “identify users by their device” instead of requiring photo ID uploads.
Meanwhile, users in Louisiana can access Pornhub without any problems, despite a similar age verification process being in place. According to a Pornhub spokesperson, Louisiana has a digital ID solution called LA Wallet, while Utah lacks a similar system.
Users in Louisiana are directed to verify their age with the state’s digital ID system before accessing the site. The spokesperson added that since the law went into effect in Louisiana, traffic from that state has fallen by 80 percent.
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