The pornography site PornHub has blocked Utah residents from accessing the site in protest of a law fortifying age restrictions on their videos, Fox 13 reports.
Senate Bill 287, which unanimously passed the Utah legislature this year, requires websites that post adult content to require age verification and establishes penalties for websites that do not comply. The law will go into effect May 2. (RELATED: Biden Admin Advocate For Child Sex Changes Kicks Off Adolescent Health Month With Resources On ‘Sexual’ Health)
Viewers first received a notice that read “403 | This state is not whitelisted” when attempting to access the site, the outlet reported. Later, the notice was changed to a longer explanation from porn actress Cherie DeVille.
Pornhub is now blocking all Utahns from viewing the site in an apparent protest of a new state law. https://t.co/K3Uayps4Il
— FOX 13 News Utah (@fox13) May 1, 2023
“As you may know, your elected officials have required us to verify your age before granting 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,” DeVille said.
“However, the best and most effective solution for protecting children and adults alike is to identify users by their device and allow 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 your region.”
Cherie then asked viewers to “Please contact your representatives before it is too late,” Vice reported.