The Independent: Pornhub ban now covers more than a third of US states

[Dennis Donovan]

The Independent - Pornhub ban now covers more than a third of US states

Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee are the latest to restrict access to adult websites

Anthony Cuthbertson
Thursday 02 January 2025 14:07 GMT

More than a third of US states have now introduced restrictions for online adult content, blocking access to popular pornographic websites such as Pornhub.

From 1 January, 2025, there are 17 states with restrictions in place after Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee became the latest to enforce over-18 age verification laws for viewing porn sites.

Legislation aimed at banning under-18s from viewing adult content in these states – which have a combined population of more than 120 million – typically requires visitors to provide state-approved identification, such as a passport or driving license.

Critics claim that this is a violation of user privacy, with Pornhub, RedTube and YouPorn parent company Aylo claiming that it also puts people’s personal data at risk. The company said it has withdrawn its websites from these states as a result of the laws.



“Aylo has publicly supported age verification of users for years, but we believe that any law to this effect must preserve user safety and privacy, and must effectively protect children from accessing content intended for adults,” a spokesperson said.

/snip

Fap-free zones...

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. Watch what happens.

Gonna be a lot more sexual assaults crimes in the red states. Wonder if there is a betting line on bad legislation?

[Unladen Swallow]

3. how? why?

[gay texan]

6. I just VPN around it. N/t

[OldBaldy1701E]

17. Yes, but you are smarter than most of the people who would use Pornhub or the like. (n/t)

[Unladen Swallow]

2. How is keeping under-18-year-olds

from viewing it (there are 99999 ways around it of course) the same as a ban? I really hate all the loaded language the media types love to use.

[AZJonnie]

9. It is freaking annoying ... all about eye-catching headlines for clicks

Another annoying one from today (alone) is the headline that the authorities in NOLA 'removed the bollards before the truck attack' as if it happened New Years Day morning or something. But then the article doesn't say when they were removed

In the early days of the internet there were 3rd-party age verification services, that weren't tied to porn sites. The porn sites would accept their certifications, but wouldn't get the users personal info or be responsible for verification of their own. These could be useful for other things too, like purchasing tobacco online, etc. Not sure why there's not been talk of the sites using those services instead of requiring people to provide state ID to them. I would imagine some of them still exist and if not, it's a business opportunity for someone.

[Unladen Swallow]

11. All excellent points

But your logic does not allow the emotional types to panic, complain, and spread the click-bait.

[OAITW r.2.0]

26. In the early days of the Internet....

Thanks Al Gore - but that's another story.

..... We had a relatively responsible body politic and national media outlets that weren't afraid to report and speak the truth.

My, how times have changed.

[BOSSHOG]

52. In the days before the Internet

We had Penthouse. That’s what I heard.

[getagrip_already]

53. If you think that was the only porn....

I have a bridge to sell you.

It existed even before sound tracks on home movie projectors.

Not that im that old, but i cleaned out a few places where seniors died. Some of them had stuff....

[BOSSHOG]

54. I don't think that.

Even though a high school speech teacher told us to never say I Don’t Think.

And once again I fail at sarcasm.

[Johonny]

22. Yup, the 18 and younger know how to get around

[magicarpet]

4. The states with the highest % of porn viewers are red states.

The buy-bull thumpers are searching for self gratification on porn sites in droves.

Mail order porn might come back into fashion if wrapped in a plain brown paper wrapper.

[Morbius]

10. #1 state for porn is...

Utah. Has been for years.

[Celerity]

25. Or not....

The narrative is Utah leads the nation in pornography consumption. Data tell a different story

https://www.yahoo.com/news/narrative-utah-leads-nation-pornography-030000146.html

Wed, May 3, 2023 at 5:00 AM GMT+2

snip

While publications in the past have reported Utah as having the highest rate of pornography usage in the country, this narrative appears to be based on a single nearly 15-year-old study about “subscriptions” to a website that still remains anonymous.

For example, Pornhub’s own statistics from 2013 showed Utah ranked 40th in the U.S. in terms of page views. An article in Cyberpsychology said when controlled for broadband internet access, Utah ranks last based on Pornhub’s data.

As noted, the narrative of Utah residents consuming the most pornography emerged from the research report produced by then-Harvard Business professor Benjamin Edelman using data from 2008 or earlier. Edelman looked at zip codes from credit cards which an anonymous adult entertainment site gave him access to and said Utah had the most subscriptions out of any state in the country.

When Edelman published the research, he told the Deseret News, “one possibility is that Utah consumers find it difficult to obtain their desired adult entertainment through retail purchases. … As a result, Utah residents may be buying online (hence appearing in my dataset), whereas people elsewhere buy retail (hence not in my dataset).”

snip

[William769]

37. 2023 Maryland was #1 page views of porn.

[Docreed2003]

5. This is the low hanging fruit for the oligarchs to begin broader content bans

They know average folks aren't going to be lining up to go public and say "Save my PornHub". Bans like this allow for further encroachment on individual liberties and limitations on access to information. This isn't about protecting children, no matter what proponents may say, this is about controlling a populace.

[B.See]

42. Exactly. More straight up NAZI sht.

because control of the media and what they considered "subversive literature" was exactly what THEY did.

But again, serves America right, for sitting back and letting fascists dictate what should and shouldn't be allowed.

[keithbvadu2]

7. Many of those morality states voted for a rapist?

[RoeVWade]

8. It will probably end up being easier to get a gun for under 18.

nr*

[Blue_Tires]

12. I don't get it...

1. Despite all their protests to the contrary, Trumpers do partake in adult sites... Go to any message board discussing the XXX film industry and you'll find nothing but Trumpers and even nuttier political extremists...

2. Okay fine, Trumpers have banned 3-4 of the major tube sites in the name of "protecting children" or some such bullshit, but there's nothing they can do about the hundreds of other easily accessible free XXX sites based outside of the U.S. Nevermind the fact that a kid can ALREADY access all the porn he or she could ever handle on Twitter alone if they know where to look 🤨

[Kaleva]

34. You have a lot of knowledge about porn sites

[Blue_Tires]

36. If only some university offered a Ph.D in the field

I could be making huge bucks as a tenured professor at one of those hoity-toity schools like Princeton or Stanford 😅

[Kaleva]

50. Lol!

[Demovictory9]

13. Like abortion, men will have to travel out of state

[iemanja]

18. Men can access it anywhere

Children can't.

[Demovictory9]

21. The porn websites are pulling outof red states. Blocking access

[iemanja]

30. That shows they intended to sell porn to children

[AZJonnie]

38. I think that's a possible, but unlikely, reason for the sites pulling out of some of these states

More likely, in my reckoning, is that the lawmakers in the state wanted the porn companies (esp. the 'free' ones like pronhub and xnxx) out of the state, and crafted the laws in such a way that they knew this would be the outcome, without having to obviously violate the 1A.

And I'd wager their primary lever to accomplish this was by creating new liability issues that are either explicitly onerous, or leave unanswered questions about liability scope, such as: Who's allowed to sue, under what conditions, and where does the burden of proof lie? How much can be awarded to a plaintiff? Could any such laws make the sites ownership criminally liable for a minor accessing the site?

Lastly, I don't think minors spend much money (relative to adults) on porn purchases, or chaturbate, or sex toys, or male enhancement, the sales of which are what the free 'hubs' are about. Their free porn clips are a 'loss leader', and I'd bet your average minor that visits these sites is a 'money-loser' for them. I'd also bet that if these sites could eliminate minors usage thereof, without it costing them money for age verification services for everyone ELSE, and absent any liabilities for the failure of their system to do so perfectly at all times, every one of them would sign up for that.

That's my humble assessment, for what it's worth.

[Initech]

14. So much for free speech!

[Jeebo]

15. They're coming for my porn!

But they won't find it! Thumb drives are not very big and I'm really good at coming up with great hiding spots!

— Ron

[PeaceWave]

16. TSA has heard that story before and they've got the latex gloves to prove it.

[iemanja]

19. Why are people upset children can't access porn?

These restrictions are for under 18s, not adults.

[newdeal2]

24. You have to upload your ID on the web to prove you're an adult

If you don’t think that will be misused for other reasons, you’re much too trusting.

[iemanja]

31. I guess you don't need to access porn then

If you're not willing to take a step to protect children.

[newdeal2]

32. If you think this law will stop kids from viewing porn

Think again. Not only are there ways to skirt it e.g. VPN, but it doesn’t apply to many websites. Including ironically X, which allows all sorts of pornography to be freely viewed by all.

[MichMan]

41. Are you opposed to having a legal drinking age ?

It doesn't prevent juveniles from consuming alcohol. After all, kids can always steal liquor from their parents, so it can be skirted.

[newdeal2]

44. Are you okay entering your ID credentials every time you watch TV? So that the kiddos avoid anything harmful

And it being stored in a database run by Republicans?

[iemanja]

45. Then

why wine that you don't have access to porn, when you clearly do?

[newdeal2]

46. I'm concerned about

Giving up internet privacy, increased government surveillance and tracking, and puritanical beliefs being pushed on society.

Yes I think that's worth whining about.

What's your strong argument in favor of this?

[iemanja]

47. I see nothing wrong with protecting children

and that some place their own self-gratification above children says a lot about our culture today. It's okay if children are killed and it's okay if they are exposed to porn. We live in society that treats children as disposable. That you decided the hill to die on about internet privacy revolves around porn is not a believable argument. We lost internet privacy a long time ago, as internet browsers and websites spy on us constantly. Yet that is not what you are complaining about.

[newdeal2]

48. That doesn't mean that an ineffective law is good

And to dismiss legitimate concerns is well, concerning.

"If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear" - where have I heard that before?

[iemanja]

49. What would be an effective law?

[valleyrogue]

20. I have no problem with restricting access. This is NOT a hill "progressives" should die on.

Our society restricts all kinds of access based on age. Given the human rights abuse rampant in porn, the fact women and girls are not objects to buy and sell, the fact men don't have a "right" to exploit other human beings for sexual gratification, it would not break my heart to see it all gone. Porn has damaged not just those exploited in it, but has done infinite damage to men and women and is one of the major factors more and more women, especially young women, are saying to hell with men altogether and focusing on their own lives. Many men, young men especially, are whining they are "lonely." Well, sexual access isn't a right, and nobody has any right to exploit others and make money off it.

[PeaceWave]

23. Not that I agree, but many progressives accept sex work as a legitimate profession.

[OAITW r.2.0]

27. I wish they'd demand limiting hate speech with 1/10 as much fervor as they are limiting normal human business of sex.

[msongs]

28. anybody any age can sign into pornhub. it's toally accessable nt

[Kaleva]

35. A friend told you that?

[J_William_Ryan]

29. "Why are people upset children can't access porn?"

They’re not.

And no one is upset.

The issue is that such measures will do little to prevent minors from accessing adult sites; this is bad faith political theater from the right, more government excess and overreach that’s ineffective and devoid of merit.

[ibegurpard]

33. Exactly

And wait till they start expanding the definition of porn.
Anyone who thinks this is good is exceptionally short-sighted and naive.

[TommyT139]

40. You got it -- and Project 2025 already did

No kidding - it's on page 5, iirc. It includes information about LGBTQ peoples' lives and identities, and also sexual health information.

It also mentions jail sentences for "pornographers." Applied, I assume, as unevenly as these sorts of charges always have been.

[Mike 03]

39. Smart authoritarians know that you don't take everything away.

Especially not the goods and services that keep the population passive, docile and potentially subject to blackmail or embarrassment. That means you do like Putin: Despite inflation, you keep liquor cheap, you talk about a war on drugs but let them through anyway, and you don't ban pornography.

[surfered]

51. Have Trump supporters heard about this? I mean the price of bacon is one thing,

but considering how many sexual assaulters and abusers are in the administration, no porn might be a bridge too far.

[Elessar Zappa]

56. We must think of the children!!