Pornhub introduces age verification restriction in Utah after state passed law
After Utah's age verification law, Pornhub has implemented a requirement for users to verify their age before being able to access the site.
The move comes after the Utah law, which was signed by Gov. Spencer Cox, took effect from March this year.
It demands that adult sites make reasonable efforts for their users to confirm that they are over 18 years of age.
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The new law also requires social media companies to verify Utah users' age, with effect from 1 March 2024, failing which users' accounts will be permanently blocked.
Having said that, it also states that legal action will be taken against the companies if they do not adhere to the new regulation and a minor gains access to their website.
However, the spokesperson of the adult site, Sharita Bell, has voiced her opposition to the law and said it is not a 'real solution' to the problem.
She clearly stated that it could potentially put 'children and your privacy at risk' by compelling users to resort to unauthorised websites that host illicit material.
"As you may know, your elected officials have required us to verify your age before granting you access to our website," Bell issued a statement on a video.
"While safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users—and in fact, will put children and your privacy at risk.
"As we've seen in other states, this just drives traffic to sites with far fewer safety measures in place."
Bell also confirmed that very few sites can be compared to the 'robust trust and safety measures' the site currently have in place.
Pornhub has urged users on their site to contact their representatives and requests that the state update its laws to possibly a 'real solution'.
The automated message on the site reads: "We believe that the best and most effective solution for protecting children and adults alike is to identify users by their device and allow access to age-restricted materials and websites based on that identification."
Utah's government is yet to enforce the law across all platforms, which are controlled by Pornhub's parent company, MindGeek, and includes sites like Brazzers, YouPorn, and Redtube, which have also blocked access for users.
The following action was taken after the same law on 'age requirements for adult websites' was passed in Louisiana and came into effect in January.
Todd Weiler, the Republican Utah state senator, was surprised when Pornhub didn't protest against the Louisiana law but blocked porn sites in Utah.
Weiler responded to Pornhub's statement and stated that it is not a 'big ask' for pornographic websites to make 'reasonable efforts' to confirm the consumer's age.
"Utah’s new law only requires adult sites to make reasonable efforts to confirm that the consumers of their content are adults," Weiler told Ars.
"I don’t think that is too much to ask."
Pornhub has previously stated how Louisiana's state government created a digital wallet that the adult site could access to securely verify state IDs.
However, Utah had no such technology, and Pornhub had to make the difficult decision to block access to the porn site.
Utah's age restriction law will take effect for adult sites on 3 May.
Rashi Agarwal