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More than a third of US states have now imposed restrictions on online adult content, blocking access to popular pornographic websites such as Pornhub.
As of January 1, 2025, there are 17 states with restrictions after Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee became the latest to implement age-verification laws for viewing porn sites over the age of 18.
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 driver’s license.
Critics claim it violates users’ privacy, and the parent company of Pornhub, RedTube and YouPorn Aylo claims it also puts people’s personal information at risk. The company said it pulled its websites from these states as a result of the law.
“Aylo has publicly supported user age verification for years, but we believe that any legislation in this regard must preserve the safety and privacy of users and must effectively protect children from accessing content intended for adults,” the spokesperson said.
“Unfortunately, the way many jurisdictions around the world, including Florida, have chosen to implement age verification is ineffective, haphazard and dangerous. Any regulations that require hundreds of thousands of adult websites to collect significant amounts of highly sensitive personal data puts user safety at risk.”
The Independent has reached out to Pornhub for comment on the latest government restrictions.
Age checks have led to a rise in the popularity of virtual private networks (VPNs), as people try to bypass their country’s porn blocks using technology that hides their real location.
In the days following Texas’ pornography ban in March last year, searches for ‘Texas VPN’ increased by 1,750 percent, according to data from review site SlashGear.
Further restrictions could be introduced under Donald Trumpof the Russian administration, with the criminalization of pornography among the controversial proposals Project 2025 plan produced by the Heritage Foundation.
The conservative think tank argues that pornography lacks First Amendment free speech protections, calling it “as addictive as any illicit drug and as psychologically destructive as any crime” in a 920-page manifesto.
“Pornography should be banned. The people who produce and distribute it should be locked up,” says Project 2025.
“Teachers and public librarians who teach it should be classified as registered sex offenders.” And the telecommunications and technology firms that facilitate its spread should be shut down.”