State laws requiring age verification for accessing certain pornographic websites are causing major online pornography sites to shut down, POLITICO reported.
PornHub blocked Utah residents from using the site in protest of a state law requiring user age verification in May. Utah residents who sought to access the site were met with an explanatory video from porn actress Cherie DeVille saying that, “Until a real solution is offered, we have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in your region.”
In January, a Louisiana law requiring age verification went into effect in the state. Similar laws have passed in Arkansas, Montana, Mississippi, Virginia and Texas. PornHub simply ceased operations in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Virginia, in addition to Utah. In Louisiana, daily traffic is down by 80%, according to the firm that owns PornHub, POLITICO reported. (RELATED: Pornhub Releases Its 2022 Data, Popular Search Terms)
Louisiana State Rep. Laurie Schlegel, who sponsored the age verification bill in her state and is a sex addiction therapist herself, says she was inspired to introduce the legislation after hearing singer Billie Eilish describe how viewing porn at 11 “really destroyed my brain.”
“I just thought how courageous it was. … It just sort of re-emphasized to me what a problem this is, especially for our children,” she told the outlet.
It’s happening.
“Pornhub has pulled out of multiple states rather than comply with age-verification laws.”https://t.co/j6UAXtKfpr @politico
— Brad Wilcox (@BradWilcoxIFS) August 8, 2023
Mike Stabile, director of public affairs for the Free Speech Coalition, which is suing Louisiana and Utah over their laws, says that the age-verification laws are effectively “business-killing.”
“I can’t stress enough that this is First Amendment protected speech,” Stabile said, adding that, “the legislators have, you know, chosen this as a way to start being able to police the open internet and start to wall it off.”
A New York Times opinion piece from 2020 noted that PornHub is “infested with rape videos.” PornHub has allegedly profited off rape video of teenage girls, some of whom have been kidnapped, according to the article.
“I’m still getting sold, even though I’m five years out of that life,” one girl, whose parents reportedly forced her to participate in pornographic video at the age of nine said, The NYT noted.
“I may never be able to get away from this,” she said. “I may be 40 with eight kids, and people are still masturbating to my photos.”