Adult entertainment viewers have been officially been blocked from accessing Pornhub in two states after age verification laws came into effect with the new year.
Both Montana and North Carolina enacted legislation as of January 1 that requires users of explicit websites to confirm their age with either third-party or "digitized" verification. The laws also allow individuals to sue platforms they believe are in violation of the law.
In response to the legislation, Pornhub — one of the most popular pornography websites — has restricted access to its platform in the two states. When visiting the site, users in North Carolina and Montana are now met with a video featuring adult film star Cherie DeVille, who recites a message also written under the video.
"As you may know, your elected officials in your state are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website. 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," it states.
Screenshot / Ryan Adamczeski / The Advocate
Other legislation that requires those visiting explicit websites to provide some form of their government ID for age verification have been passed in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Utah. Pornhub also cut access to its platform in Utah in May, 2023.
"Mandating age verification without proper enforcement gives platforms the opportunity to choose whether or not to comply," the statement continues. "As we’ve seen in other states, this just drives traffic to sites with far fewer safety measures in place."
"Until a real solution is offered, we have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in [these states]," the company concludes.
