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 The company said it has withdrawn its websites from these states as a result of the laws.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.
“Unfortunately, the way many jurisdictions worldwide, including Florida, have chosen to implement age verification is ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous. Any regulations that require hundreds of thousands of adult sites to collect significant amounts of highly sensitive personal information is putting user safety in jeopardy.”
The Independent has reached out to Pornhub for comment on the latest state restrictions.
The age verification checks have seen virtual private networks (VPNs) surge in popularity, as people attempt to bypass their state’s porn blocks through technology that hides their actual location.
In the days following the pornography block in Texas in March last year, searches for ‘Texas VPN’ increased by 1,750 per cent, according to data from review site SlashGear.
Further restrictions could be introduced under Donald Trump’s administration, with the criminalisation of pornography among the proposals of the controversial Project 2025 plan drawn up by the Heritage Foundation.
The conservative think tank claims that pornography has no First Amendment protections relating to free speech, and refers to it as “addictive as any illicit drug and as psychologically destructive as any crime” in the 920-page manifesto.
“Pornography should be outlawed. The people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned,” Project 2025 states.
“Educators and public librarians who purvey it should be classed as registered sex offenders. And telecommunications and technology firms that facilitate its spread should be shuttered.”
