Pornhub has disabled access to its website in Utah in response to a new law requiring companies publishing adult content to verify users’ ages before allowing them to view the X-rated material on their platforms.
The pornography website confirmed to Axios that it completely disabled its websites for individuals located in the state on May 1.
Individuals in Utah attempting to access Pornhub’s site are now greeted with a lengthy video message from the adult entertainer and member of the Adult Performer Advocacy Committee, Cherie DeVille, explaining that they are unable to do so because of the new age-verification law.
“As you may know, your elected officials in Utah are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website,” DeVille says. “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.”
“In addition, mandating age verification without proper enforcement gives platforms the opportunity to choose whether or not to comply. As we’ve seen in other states, this just drives traffic to sites with far fewer safety measures in place. Very few sites are able to compare to the robust Trust and Safety measures we currently have in place. To protect children and user privacy, any legislation must be enforced against all platforms offering adult content,” DeVille continued.
The adult entertainer goes on to state that Pornhub, which is owned by Montreal-based company Mindgeek, places great emphasis on user safety, but that it ultimately believes the most effective way to protect children and adults using the site is to identify them via their devices, allowing them access to age-restricted materials and websites based on that identification.
“Until a real solution is offered, we have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in Utah,” DeVille continued. “Please contact your representatives before it is too late and demand device-based verification solutions that make the internet safer while also respecting your privacy.”
Utah Bill Tackles Harmful Materials
The move by Pornhub comes after Utah Gov. Spencer Cox last month signed into law Senate Bill 287, also known as the “Online Pornography Viewing Age Requirements.”
Under that bill, commercial entities that provide pornography or other materials harmful to minors are required to verify users’ ages through “reasonable age-verification methods” before they can access such material.
Such methods include “digitized information cards” or third-party age-verification services that compare the personal information entered by the individual seeking to access the website to material available from either a commercially available database or an aggregate of databases, used by the government agencies to confirm identities or age.
Adult content companies can also use “any commercially reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional data” to confirm the individual’s identity when they attempt to access the material, the bill states.
Commercial entities that “knowingly and intentionally” publish or distribute a “substantial portion” of material that is harmful to minors online without performing reasonable age verification methods to ensure users are of age may be held liable under the law, including for damages and court costs resulting from the minor accessing the material.
The law defines harmful material as “material that exploits, is devoted to, or principally consists of descriptions of actual, simulated, or animated display or depiction of any of the following, in a manner patently offensive with respect to minors: (i) pubic hair, anus, vulva, genitals, or nipple of the female breast; (ii) touching, caressing, or fondling of nipples, breasts, buttocks, anuses, or genitals; or (iii) sexual intercourse, masturbation, sodomy, bestiality, oral copulation, flagellation, excretory functions, exhibitions, or any other sexual act.”
The age verification legislation is set to take effect on May 3.
Porn a ‘Public Health Crisis’
Pornhub’s terms of service state that users must be 18 years or older, or the age of majority in the jurisdiction they are accessing the website from in order to use the site.
“If you are under 18 or the applicable age of majority, please do not use the Website. You also represent that the jurisdiction from which you access the Website does not prohibit the receiving or viewing of sexually explicit content,” it states.
However, the state of Utah in 2016 declared porn a “public health crisis” that was creating a “broad spectrum of individual and public health impacts and societal harms.” A string of other states, including Arizona, have since followed suit.
Last year, lawmakers in Louisiana passed similar legislation requiring publishers of online material that could be harmful to minors to verify user ages.
Unlike Utah, Louisiana provides a mobile app that allows users to create a digital replica of their driving license which can then be scanned to verify their age, according to Ars Technica.
This is not the first time that Pornhub has found itself at the center of controversy. In 2021, the website came under fire after The New York Times reported that it hosted unlawful content, including nonconsensual pornography and videos of child sexual assault.
While the adult website initially denied the allegations, it later pledged to crack down on illegal content and said it will only allow properly identified users to upload such materials.
The Epoch Times has contacted Pornhub for comment.
