In reaction to a new rule requiring websites to verify that a visitor from the state is 18 or older, adult film production company MindGeek has barred entrance to its websites platform in Utah (including PornHub, Brazzers, RedTube, YouPorn, and Reality Kings).
The governor of Utah signed S.B. 287 Online Pornography Viewing Age Requirements into law in March, and it becomes operative today. According to this legislation, pornographic websites must use uploaded official IDs or a third-party age verification service to confirm that a visitor is at least 18 years old.
S.B. 287 mandates that commercial entities that make up a significant amount of their content from pornography and other things deemed detrimental to minors must confirm the age of those who access the information.
If the company failed to verify the age of Utah visitors, it would be responsible for paying an individual’s court expenses and reasonable attorney fees as well as any other damages brought on by the youngster accessing the material.
One of the biggest producers of pornographic internet material worldwide, MindGeek claims to have over 125 million daily visitors and 100 billion video views annually through its network of websites.
According to information provided by BleepingComputer, MindGeek’s websites are no longer accessible to Utahns due to SB287. Instead, a message instructing visitors to get in touch with their reps about transitioning to device-based age verification solutions is displayed.
As you may be aware, your Utah elected officials have mandated that we confirm your age before granting you access to our website. Giving your ID card every time you want to use an adult site is not the most effective way to protect our users, and it will actually put children and your privacy in danger. Safety and compliance are at the center of our goal.
Furthermore, requiring age verification without proper enforcement gives platforms the option of complying or not. This just directs traffic to locations with much fewer security measures in place, as we’ve seen in other jurisdictions. The effective Trust and Safety procedures we currently have in place are comparable to those on very few other websites. Any legislation must be implemented against all platforms that offer adult content in order to safeguard children and user privacy.
One of our utmost priorities is the security of our users. We think that identifying users by their devices and granting access to age-restricted content and websites based on that identification is the best and most efficient way to protect both children and adults. We have made the tough choice to completely ban access to our website in Utah until a viable solution is provided.
Before it’s too late, please get in touch with your reps and demand device-based verification solutions that protect your privacy while simultaneously making the internet safer. A video featuring adult movie star Cherie DeVille, who reads the aforementioned greeting to the camera, also welcomes visitors to PornHub.
Conclusion
In opposition to Utah’s age-verification law, Pornhub has restricted access to the state, according to FOX13(opens in a new tab) in Salt Lake City. Visitors to pornographic websites are required by law to provide identification proving their age is at least 18. Act 440 of Louisiana, which became effective on January 1, 2023, was the first of the most recent wave of U.S. legislation.
Soon after, Utah passed its version, SB 287(opens in a new tab), requiring websites containing “a substantial portion of material that may be harmful to minors” to employ an AVS. The Free Speech Coalition(opens in a new tab), a lobbying organization for the porn business, reports that SB 287 will go into effect on May 3rd. Prior to then, Utah’s access to Pornhub was prohibited by Pornhub itself. According to FOX13, there was initially a 403 error, which denotes a restricted site, and then Pornhub later issued a message:
