Pornstars have spoken out about a new age verification law coming into force in the US.
Last week, lawmakers in Louisiana announced that people would be required to provide proof they were over 18 in order to access adult sites.
Under the new piece of legislation, which affects any site that is made up of at least 33.3 pornographic content, it will be the websites' responsibility to make sure users are old enough to access them.
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The move, however, has not gone down well with some of those who work in the industry.
OnlyFan star Allie Rae has blasted the law, which she says is 'absurd' and doesn't do anything to solve the 'real' problems within porn.
She told outkick.com: "I personally do not foresee this as anything more than an invasion of one’s privacy and/or an attempt to penalize porn companies and increase the stigma on this industry further.
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"I 100 percent standby requiring all forms of identification for PERFORMERS/CREATORS on any adult platform – but telling a grown adult they have to show their ID before they can SEE/CONSUME some porn, is absolutely absurd to me.
"This couldn’t be further from the REAL problems that we are facing in the adult industry – such as child/sex trafficking of minors and those who have been trafficked into the industry by coercion or force.
"That’s where the focus should be across all initiatives."
On top of that, Rae says that the law most likely won't stop young boys from looking at porn.
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"While I don’t particularly want minors, including my own 13-year-old son, consuming porn in his bedroom at midnight, a simple pop up asking for an ID is not gonna stop him – when he can do a Google image search, or better yet, log on Twitter and see it all," she said.
"But then again, I have always been a 'realist' and know that it’s physically impossible to ban all minors from searching porn on the internet.
"This kinda reminds me of the alcohol websites that make you check 'yes, I’m over 21' before you enter their website, as if someone is gonna say no.
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"Where there is a will, there is a way. This is just a waste of time thinking you’re gonna somehow make a dent on the 'issue' of 14-year-old boys/girls having Playboy magazines shoved under their bed.
"Let’s focus on the real issues in the adult industry."
She was backed up by fellow performer Brandi Love, who said the new law will be ineffective.
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The 49-year-old said she'd much rather see tougher restrictions brought to sites like Twitter, where porn is freely available and easily accessible.
"I’ve always believed and advocated for placing all adult content behind a paywall," she said. "That’s how you protect and age verify. That’s what OnlyFans does. And I hope it’s what Twitter does.
"This Louisiana law doesn’t really care about protecting. It cares about penalizing porn companies. And if everyone starts surfing behind a VPN, the law will become useless overnight.”
Dominic Smithers